Meanings
adjectivemotivative (comparative more motivative, superlative most motivative)
comparative more motivative · superlative most motivative
- motivating; serving to motivate
- grammarIn, marked by or pertaining to the motivative case.
nounmotivative (uncountable)
- uncountablegrammarThe motivative case, a case found in some languages (for example Basque) which marks the meaning "because of".
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveimpelling to action
Similar
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Anglo-Normanmotif
- Middle Frenchmotif
- Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
- Proto-Italic*moweō
- Latinmoveō
- Latinmōtus
- Late Latinmōtīvum
- Middle Englishmotif
- Englishmotive
- Englishmotivate
- Englishmotivative
Translations
Basque motibatibo
- motibatibogrammatical case
Cite this entry
APA
motivative. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/motivative
MLA
“motivative.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/motivative. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “motivative,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/motivative.
Source: motivative on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.