Definitions for motive
ˈmoʊ tɪvmo·tive

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. motivation, motive, need(noun)

   the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior

   "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives"

2. motif, motive(noun)

   a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music

3. motif, motive(adj)

   a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration

4. motive(a), motor(adj)

   causing or able to cause motion

   "a motive force"; "motive power"; "motor energy"

5. motivative(a), motive(a), motivating(adj)

   impelling to action

   "it may well be that ethical language has primarily a motivative function"- Arthur Pap; "motive pleas"; "motivating arguments"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. motive(Noun)

   An incentive to act; a reason for doing something; anything that prompted a choice of action.

2. motive(Noun)

   A motif; a theme or subject, especially one that is central to the work or often repeated.

   If you listen carefully, you can hear the flutes mimicking the cello motive.

3. motive(Verb)

   To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.

4. motive(Adjective)

   Causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move; as, a motive argument; motive power.

5. motive(Adjective)

   Relating to motion and/or to its cause

Webster Dictionary(3.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Motive(noun)

   that which moves; a mover

2. Motive(noun)

   that which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choise, or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object

3. Motive(noun)

   the theme or subject; a leading phrase or passage which is reproduced and varied through the course of a comor a movement; a short figure, or melodic germ, out of which a whole movement is develpoed. See also Leading motive, under Leading

4. Motive(noun)

   that which produces conception, invention, or creation in the mind of the artist in undertaking his subject; the guiding or controlling idea manifested in a work of art, or any part of one

5. Motive(adj)

   causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move; as, a motive argument; motive power

6. Motive(verb)

   to prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Motive

   A motive, in law, especially criminal law, is the cause that moves people to induce a certain action. Motive, in itself, is not an element of any given crime; however, the legal system typically allows motive to be proven in order to make plausible the accused's reasons for committing a crime, at least when those motives may be obscure or hard to identify with. The law technically distinguishes between motive and intent. "Intent" in criminal law is synonymous with mens rea, which means no more than the specific mental purpose to perform a deed that is forbidden by a criminal statute, or the reckless disregard of whether the law will be violated. "Motive" describes instead the reasons in the accused's background and station in life that are supposed to have induced the crime. Motive is particularly important in prosecutions for homicide. First, murder is so drastic a crime that most people recoil from the thought of being able to do it; proof of motive explains why the accused did so desperate an act. Moreover, most common law jurisdictions have statutes that provide for degrees of homicide, based in part on the accused's mental state. The lesser offence of voluntary manslaughter, for example, traditionally required that the accused knowingly and voluntarily kill the victim; in addition, it must be shown that the killing took place in the "sudden heat of passion," an excess of rage or anger coming from a contemporary provocation, which clouded the accused's judgment. Homicides motivated by such factors are a lesser offense than murder "in cold blood."

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Motive

   mō′tiv, adj. causing motion: having power to cause motion.—n. that which moves or excites to action: inducement: reason.—v.t. to act on as a motive, instigate.—v.t. Mō′tivāte, to act on as a motive, induce.—n. Motivā′tion.—adj. Mōtiveless.—ns. Mō′tivelessness; Mō′tive-power, or -force, the force acting upon a body so as to cause it to move; Motiv′ity, power of producing motion: the quality of being influenced by motion. [Fr., through Low L., from movēre, mōtum to move.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. motive

   Song lyrics by motive -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by motive on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'motive' in Nouns Frequency: #1796

Anagrams for motive »

1. move it

How to pronounce motive?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say motive in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of motive in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of motive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of motive in a Sentence

1. Ayn Rand:

   The common good of a collective -- a race, a class, a state -- was the claim and justification of every tyranny ever established over men. Every major horror of history was committed in the name of an altruistic motive. Has any act of selfishness ever equaled the carnage perpetrated by disciples of altruism? Does the fault lie in men's hypocrisy or in the nature of the principle? The most dreadful butchers were the most sincere. The believed in the perfect society reached through the guillotine and the firing squad. Nobody questioned their right to murder since they were murdering for an altruistic purpose. It was accepted that man must be sacrificed for other men. Actors change, but the course of the tragedy remains the same. A humanitarian who starts with the declarations of love for mankind and ends with a sea of blood. It goes on and will go on so long as men believe that an action is good if it is unselfish. That permits the altruist to act and forces his victims to bear it. The leaders of collectivist movements ask nothing of themselves. But observe the results.

2. Josh Campbell:

   I think the motive [ was ] to keep his job.

3. Luisa Ortega:

   We're convinced, after a technically and scientifically rigorous investigation, that in total 21 people disappeared, we are still determining the motive ... of this massacre.

4. Azhar Ikram:

   As per our initial investigation 'honor' is the motive of murder.

5. President Tayyip Erdogan:

   Daesh is a dagger plunged into the chest of Muslims. Whoever gives support to this group, whether out of sectarian fanaticism or another motive, commits the same sin.

Images & Illustrations of motive

Popularity rank by frequency of use