MOTIVE in a Sentence

Learn MOTIVE from example sentences; some of them are from classic books. These examples are selected from a corpus with 300,000 sentences, including classic works and current mainstream media. Some sentences also link to their contexts.

184 example sentences for MOTIVE, such as:

1. I remain dubious about her motives.
2. There is a complete absence of motive.
3. I'm sorry I misjudged you/your motives.
4. She should examine her motives for marrying him.
5. This had been her motive in going to her cousin's.

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 Meanings and Examples of MOTIVE
Definition Example Sentence Classic Sentence
motive
 n.  emotion or desire; a reason for doing something
Classic Sentence: (133 in 9 pages)
1  The German name of the victim, the absence of all other motive, and the sinister inscription on the wall, all pointed to its perpetration by political refugees and revolutionists.
A Study In Scarlet By Arthur Conan Doyle
Context  Highlight   In PART I: CHAPTER VI. TOBIAS GREGSON SHOWS WHAT HE CAN DO
2  All who can distinguish will understand your motive.
Mansfield Park By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER XV
3  That would only prove her affection not equal to sacrifices, which, in fact, I am scarcely justified in asking; and, if I am refused, that, I think, will be the honest motive.
Mansfield Park By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER XLIV
4  Sir Thomas would not hear of it; and Mrs. Norris's anger against Fanny was so much the greater, from considering her residence there as the motive.
Mansfield Park By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER XLVIII
5  This had been her motive in going to her cousin's.
Mansfield Park By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In CHAPTER XLVIII
6  That was his motive for drawing back, I can assure you.
Persuasion By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 21
7  I have always wanted some other motive for his conduct than appeared.
Persuasion By Jane Austen
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 21
8  It could be seen in her face that whatever motive she might have had in asking the youth indoors would soon appear.
Return of the Native By Thomas Hardy
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 2: 4 Eustacia Is Led on to an Adventure
9  The fact only could be detected, her true motive never.
Return of the Native By Thomas Hardy
Context  Highlight   In BOOK 2: 4 Eustacia Is Led on to an Adventure
10  From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive for securing the situation.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan Doyle
Context  Highlight   In II. THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE
11  The larger crimes are apt to be the simpler, for the bigger the crime the more obvious, as a rule, is the motive.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan Doyle
Context  Highlight   In III. A CASE OF IDENTITY
12  My motive for withholding it from the coroner's inquiry is that a man of science shrinks from placing himself in the public position of seeming to indorse a popular superstition.
The Hound of the Baskervilles By Arthur Conan Doyle
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 2. The Curse of the Baskervilles
13  I had the further motive that Baskerville Hall, as the paper says, would certainly remain untenanted if anything were done to increase its already rather grim reputation.
The Hound of the Baskervilles By Arthur Conan Doyle
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 2. The Curse of the Baskervilles
14  So far as the Barrymores go we have found the motive of their actions, and that has cleared up the situation very much.
The Hound of the Baskervilles By Arthur Conan Doyle
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 9. The Light upon the Moor [Second Report of Dr. ...
15  There is a complete absence of motive.
The Hound of the Baskervilles By Arthur Conan Doyle
Context  Highlight   In Chapter 13. Fixing the Nets
Example Sentence: (51 in 4 pages)
16  There are two motives for reading a book; one, that you enjoy it; the other, that you can boast about it.
17  I think you should examine/question their motives in offering to lend you the money.
18  She should examine her motives for marrying him.
19  However you explain the motives behind his actions, he was still wrong.
20  The motives influencing a particular individual may change from time to time.
21  I remain dubious about her motives.
22  I'm sorry I misjudged you/your motives.
23  Mr. Straw's appointment as Foreign Secretary has triggered speculation in London about the Prime Minister's motives for the change.
24  This plan is inspired by ignoble motives and I must, therefore, oppose it.
25  I find his motives impossible to fathom; in fact, I'm totally clueless about what goes on in his mind.
26  It surprised me when I first discovered that such was his intention: I had thought him a man unlikely to be influenced by motives so commonplace in his choice of a wife; but the longer I considered the position, education.
27  The ability to motivate people is a priceless asset.
28  Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us.
29  Our challenge is to motivate those voters and inspire them to join our cause.
30  Examinations do not motivate a student to seek more knowledge.