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• n  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
  he acted with the best of motives
• n  a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
• n  a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
• s  causing or able to cause motion
  a motive force
  motive power
• s  impelling to action
  motive pleas

• Actually, the new sponsorship will make no difference in motive's outlook, since it was never very parochial to begin with.
• The Navy last week went a long way in recognizing the importance of keeping the profit motive at work to promote economical war production.
• I'd expect that to be a motive at least some of the time.

• motivation
• need
• motif
• motor
• motivative
• motivating

News & Articles

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• Hasan cites a motive for attack
  Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people in a 2009 rampage at Fort Hood, for the first time expressed his motive for the attack, telling a judge Tuesday that he was out to protect the leader of the Taliban and what he called the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” Seated in the gallery behind him were Army soldiers, military police officers and relatives of some ...
  June 12, 2013 - San Antonio Express-News
• Motive Remains Unclear in SaMo Shooting Rampage
  SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KTLA) — Investigators on Monday were still trying to piece together a motive in Friday’s deadly shooting rampage in Santa Monica. John Zawahri, 23, allegedly shot and killed his father, brother and three other people before he …
  June 10, 2013 - KTLA-TV Los Angeles
• Family Strife Could Prove Motive In Santa Monica Shootings
  Investigators were reportedly looking into family connections in their search for a motive in Friday's shooting rampage in Santa Monica, Calif., that left six people dead, including the gunman and a woman who died Sunday from injuries sustained in the assault. The Associated Press, quoting unnamed officials close to the investigation, reports that the inquiry was focusing on the likelihood that ...
  June 9, 2013 - KERA North Texas

Quotes

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• John McCain in KCRA.com
  For all of the last century, the profit motive basically led in one direction - toward machines, methods and industries that used oil and gas,said McCain.
• Matt Blunt in International Herald Tribune
  We're not saying it is definitely a crime scene, but we are treating it as if it is and trying to determine if the fire was set by somebody who had a nefarious motive,Gov. Matt Blunt said.
• Chuck Klosterman in El Dorado Times
  At the time, it was assumed that Prince did this because he was (expletive) crazy and always wanted to be in a position to retract whatever was written about him,Klosterman writes. "However, his real motive was more reasonable and (kind...