Synonym: basis, cause, ground, motivation, prompting, reason. Similar words: motivate, motion, promotion, give notice, active, native, incentive, relative. Meaning: ['məʊtɪv] 
n. 1. 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 2. a theme that is elaborated on in a piece of music. adj. 1. causing or able to cause motion 2. impelling to action.
n. 1. 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 2. a theme that is elaborated on in a piece of music. adj. 1. causing or able to cause motion 2. impelling to action. 
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1. What makes life dreary is the want of motive. 
2. No motive for the killing has yet been established.
3. Her prime motive was personal ambition.
4. What was his motive for doing that?
5. What do you suppose the killer's motive was?
6. His motive for working so hard is that he needs money.
7. There seemed to be no clear motive for the attack.
8. His real motive for the crime remains obscure.
9. Sexual jealousy is a common motive for murder.
10. There may be a hidden motive for his departure.
11. Jealousy was assigned as motive for the crime.
12. The crime seemed to have been committed without motive.
13. His motive was plain greed.
14. He claimed that his motive for stealing was hunger.
15. Water provided the motive power for the mill.
16. The motive for the killing is unknown.
17. In the final analysis,(sentencedict.com/motive.html) profit is the motive.
18. The capitalist system is based on the profit motive.
19. There seemed to be no motive for the murder.
20. Their motive was greed, pure and simple .
21. The police are still trying to establish a motive for the attack.
22. The motive for this shocking attack seems to be racial hatred.
23. She must have some ulterior motive for being nice to me—what does she really want?
24. Detectives have been unable to assign a motive for the murder.
25. So far, the police haven't got any clues as to the motive for the crime.
26. What makes life dreary is the want of a motive.
27. All the evidence collected so far points to robbery as the motive of the crime.
28. Why would she have killed him? She has no motive.
29. In this trial two essential elements must be proven: motive and opportunity.
30. Envy like yours is a hell of a good motive for murder.
More similar words: motivate, motion, promotion, give notice, active, native, incentive, relative, actively, narrative, objective, sensitive, deceptive, detective, executive, cognitive, supportive, cooperative, innovative, diminutive, collective, productive, distinctive, attractive, protective, perspective, relatively, initiative, effectively, alternative.