transmotivation

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noun

The process of revising a fictional character's motivations to correspond to his/her actions.

OriginEnglish motivation ← Middle English motif ← Late Latin mōtīvum →
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

nountransmotivation (countable and uncountable, plural transmotivations)

plural transmotivations

  1. countableuncountableliteratureThe process of revising a fictional character's motivations to correspond to his/her actions.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*terh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*térh₂t
  3. Proto-Indo-European*tr̥h₂ónts
  4. Proto-Indo-European*tr̥h₂n̥ts
  5. Proto-Italic*trāns
  6. Proto-Italic*trāns-
  7. Latintrans-
  8. Englishtrans-
  9. Anglo-Normanmotif
  10. Middle Frenchmotif
  11. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
  13. Proto-Italic*moweō
  14. Latinmoveō
  15. Latinmōtus
  16. Late Latinmōtīvum
  17. Middle Englishmotif
  18. Englishmotive
  19. Englishmotivation
  20. Englishtransmotivation

From trans- + motivation, coined by the scholar Gérard Genette.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

transmotivation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/transmotivation

MLA

“transmotivation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/transmotivation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “transmotivation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/transmotivation.

Source: transmotivation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.