Motive1. (n.) That which moves; a mover.
2. (n.) That which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choice, or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object.
3. (n.) The theme or subject; a leading phrase or passage which is reproduced and varied through the course of a movement; a short figure, or melodic germ, out of which a whole movement is developed. See Leading.
4. (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.
5. (a.) Causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move; as, a motive argument; motive power.
6. (v. t.) To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.
Thesaurus Entries
activating, active, actuating, aim, ambition, angle, animating, animus, antecedent, argument, aspiration, attraction, basis, burden, case, causal, causative, cause, chapter, compelling, concern, consideration, counsel, desideration, desideratum, design, desire, determinant, determination, device, directive, driving, effect, emotion, end, enticement, essence, feeling, figure, fixed purpose, focus of attention, focus of interest, function, gist, goad, goal, grounds, head, heading, idea, impellent, impelling, impulsive, in motion, incentive, incitement, inducement, inducive, influence, intendment, intent, intention, issue, kinetic, leitmotiv, living issue, lure, main point, matter, matter in hand, meaning, meat, mind, mobile, motif, motile, motivating, motivating force, motivation, motivational, motor, moving, nisus, object, objective, operative, passion, pattern, phrase, plan, point, point at issue, point in question, pressing, problem, prod, project, propellant, propelling, proposal, propulsive, propulsory, prospectus, pulsive, purpose, pushing, question, rationale, reason, resolution, resolve, rubric, sake, shoving, spring, spur, stimulation, stimulus, stirring, striving, study, subject, subject matter, subject of thought, substance, text, theme, thrusting, topic, transitional, traveling, urge, urgent, view, will