- (n.) 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.
- (a.) Causing motion; having power to move or tending to move; as, a motive argument; motive power.
- (n.) That which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choise or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object.
- (n.) That which moves; a mover.
- (n.) 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.
- (v.t.) To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). motive. Retrieved September 25, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/motive/definitions/2034732 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "motive" http://smartdefine.org/motive/definitions/2034732 (accessed September 25, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, motive, Smart Define, viewed 25 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/motive/definitions/2034732>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "motive" 27 May 2011. Web. 25 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/motive/definitions/2034732> |