motivate/ˋmotə͵vet; ˈməʊtəveIt or ˈməʊtIveIt/v [T]1 to be the reason why someone does something 成为…的动机: I can’t understand what motivates him to do such terrible things. 我不明白是什么动机促使他做出如此可怕的事情来。2 to make someone want to achieve something, especially by encouraging them to work harder 激发﹐激励: motivate sb to do sth managers who motivate their staff to achieve targets 激励员工完成目标的经理 —motivated adj :a racially motivated attack 种族原因造成的袭击事件highly motivated students (=students who are eager to work hard)学习积极性高的学生