English synonyms about - contact  

motive

Roget category 615

5. Words relating to the voluntary powers
5.1. Volition in general
›› 5.1.2. Causes of volition

#615. Motive

noun

motive, springs of action, wellsprings of action.
reason, ground, call, principleby end, by purposemainspring, primum mobile [Lat.], keystonethe why and the whereforepro and con, reason whysecret motive, arriere pensee [Fr.]intention etc. 620.
inducement, considerationattractionloadstonemagnet, magnetism, magnetic forceallectation, allectivetemptation, enticement, agacerie, allurement, witcherybewitchment, bewitcherycharmspell etc. 993fascination, blandishment, cajoleryseduction, seducementhoneyed words, voice of the tempter, song of the Sirens forbidden fruit, golden apple.
persuasibility, persuasiblenessattractabilityimpressibility, susceptibilitysoftnesspersuasiveness, attractivenesstantalization.
influence, prompting, dictate, instanceimpulse, impulsionincitement, incitationpress, instigationprovocation etc. (excitation of feeling) 824inspirationpersuasion, suasionencouragement, advocacyexhortationadvice etc. 695solicitation etc. (request) 765lobbyismpull [Slang].
incentive, stimulus, spur, fillip, whip, goad, ankus, rowel, provocative, whet, dram.
bribe, luredecoy, decoy duckbait, trail of a red herringbribery and corruptionsop, sop for Cerberus.
prompter, tempterseducer, seductorinstigator, firebrand, incendiarySiren, Circeagent provocateurlobbyist.

verb

induce, movedraw, draw onbring in its train, give an impulse etc. n. — toinspireput up to, prompt, call upattract, beckon.
stimulate etc. (excite) 824spirit up, inspiritrouse, arouseanimate, incite, foment, provoke, instigate, set on, actuateact upon, work upon, operate uponencouragepat on the back, pat on the shoulder, clap on the back, clap on the shoulder.
influence, weigh with, bias, sway, incline, dispose, predispose, turn the scale, inoculatelead by the nosehave influence with, have influence over, have influence upon, exercise influence with, exercise influence over, exercise influence upongo round, come round oneturn the head, magnetizelobby.
persuadeprevail with, prevail uponovercome, carrybring round to one's senses, bring to one's sensesdraw over, win over, gain over, come over, talk overprocure, enlist, engageinvite, court.
tempt, seduce, overpersuade, entice, allure, captivate, fascinate, bewitch, carry away, charm, conciliate, wheedle, coax, lureinveigletantalizecajole etc. (deceive) 545.
tamper with, bribe, suborn, grease the palm, bait with a silver hook, gild the pill, make things pleasant, put a sop into the pan, throw a sop to, bait the hook.
enforce, forceimpel etc. (push) 276propel etc. 284whip, lash, goad, spur, prick, urge egg on, hound, hurry ondrag etc. 285exhortadvise etc. 695call upon &c. — press etc. (request) 765advocate.
set an example, set the fashionkeep in countenance.
be persuaded &c. — yield to temptation, come roundconcede etc. (consent) 762obey a callfollow advice, follow the bent, follow the dictates ofact on principle.

adjective

impulsive, motivesuasive, suasory, persuasive, persuasory, hortative, hortatoryprotrepticalinviting, tempting, etc. v. — suasive, suasoryseductive, attractivefascinating etc. (pleasing) 829provocative etc. (exciting) 824.
induced etc. v. — disposedpersuadable etc. (docile) 602spellboundinstinct with, smitten with, infatuatedinspired etc. v. — by.

adverb

because, therefore etc. (cause) 155from this motive, from that motivefor this reason, for that reasonforby reason of, for the sake of, count ofout of, from, as, forasmuch as.
for all the worldon principle.

phrase

fax mentis incendium gloriae [Lat.]temptation hath a music for all ears" [Willis]; to beguile many and be beguiled by one" [Othello].

The content on this page comes straight from Project Gutenberg Etext of Roget's Thesaurus No. Two, which consists of the acclaimed work by Peter Mark Roget augmented with more recent material. Some changes were made to the formatting for improved readability.

Bold numbers signify related Roget categories. A dagger symbol (†) indicates archaic words and expressions no longer in common use.

debug info: 0.0015