Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

motivation

 noun
     
mo‧ti‧va‧tion
1 [uncountable] eagerness and willingness to do something without needing to be told or forced to do it
somebody's motivation
efforts to improve employees' motivation
Jack is an intelligent pupil, but he lacks motivation.
a high level of motivation
2 [countable] the reason why you want to do something
motivation for (doing) something
What was your motivation for becoming a teacher?
Escape can be a strong motivation for travel.
motivation behind
There is suspicion about the motivation behind the changes we are debating.
—motivational adjective:
motivational speeches
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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