mo ‧ ti ‧ vate /ˈməʊtəveɪt, ˈməʊtɪveɪt $ ˈmoʊ-/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ motivated , ↑ motivational , ↑ motiveless ; noun : ↑ motive , ↑ motivation ; verb : ↑ motivate ]
1 . to be the reason why someone does something SYN drive :
Was he motivated solely by a desire for power?
motivate somebody to do something
We may never know what motivated him to kill his wife.
2 . to make someone want to achieve something and make them willing to work hard in order to do this:
A good teacher has to be able to motivate her students.
motivate somebody to do something
The profit-sharing plan is designed to motivate the staff to work hard.