I. adjective
Etymology: from present participle of drive (I)
1. : acting with vigor : energetic
responsibility turned the spoiled playboy into a driving young executive
2. : prone to urge or goad others (as subordinates or employees) to stepped-up or unreasonable exertion
a driving supervisor
3. : being of such character as to produce or effect and sustain consistently directed, progressive, or constructive action
the driving force was not academic training but his innate enthusiasm for constructive and creative work — John Bradford
the driving energy required of an executive
in the 1860s and 1870s the irresistible driving power of the American trek westward — American Guide Series: Texas
4. : exercising an inescapable pressure or compulsive influence in inciting and stimulating thoughts or actions in mounting sequence : dynamic
little by little the pleasure of opiates gives way to the driving necessity to take drugs in order to avoid withdrawal distress — D.W.Maurer & V.H.Vogel
the stirring and driving quality of all truly spiritual leaders who are in the world but not of it — M.R.Cohen
the driving concern of the book to expose actual conditions in the institution
a driving personal ambition
5. : having a dramatic and suspensive quality stimulative to readers or hearers
he gives us a quick and driving narrative of a tired and indomitable and angry man — Saturday Review
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: from gerund of drive (I)
: management of an automobile or other vehicle on the road
clever at driving in heavy traffic