motive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Officials have not issued a motive for the fires.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

The motive behind the apparent plot was not immediately clear.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Tom has a more pressing motive than soothing petulance over illustrations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Bouchard, the sheriff, called the crime a "hateful, terrible thing", but did not elaborate on a specific motive.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

Whewell’s motive for raising the issue in print in 1834 may partly have been that ‘scientist’, unlike ‘man of science’, is a gender-neutral term—he was reviewing a book by the science writer Mary Somerville.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton