noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ hidden , ulterior
▪ good , strong
▪
I'd say he had a very strong ~ for wanting her dead.
▪ altruistic , high , noble , pure
▪
He was acting from the noblest of ~s when he offered her money.
▪ base ( formal ), selfish
▪ evil , sinister
▪ questionable
▪ main , primary , prime
▪ real , true
▪ clear , obvious
▪
There seemed to be no clear ~ for the attack.
▪ underlying
▪
She was not sure what his underlying ~s were.
▪ mixed
▪
We give aid to other countries with mixed ~s.
▪ human
▪ personal
▪ economic , financial , political , racial ( esp. BrE ), religious
▪ profit
VERB + MOTIVE
▪ be inspired by ( esp. BrE ), have
▪
She knew that he was inspired by base ~s.
▪ establish , find , find out , suggest
▪
The police are still trying to establish a ~ for the attack.
▪ provide
▪
There must be something which provided a ~ for these killings.
▪ be suspicious of , examine , impugn ( formal ), question , suspect
▪
He was suspicious of her ~s in inviting him into the house.
▪
She should examine her ~s for marrying him.
▪ hide
▪
We've become adept at hiding our true ~s.
▪ explain
▪
However you explain the ~s behind his actions, he was still wrong.
▪ reveal
▪ know , see , understand
▪
Everyone can see your true ~s.
MOTIVE + VERB
▪ drive sb/sth
▪
speculation that less noble ~s were driving the country's foreign policy
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ in
▪
What was their ~ in setting fire to the building?
▪ ~ behind
▪
There is no doubt about the ~ behind it all.
▪ ~ for
▪
There may be a hidden ~ for his departure.
▪ ~ of
▪
It it is clear that they were acting from ~s of revenge.
PHRASES
▪ a variety of ~s
▪
I did it for a variety of ~s.