motives
SayMOH-tivz/ˈmoʊtɪvz/UK/ˈməʊtɪvz/
- 1Plural of motive.
Investigators struggled to untangle the competing motives behind the fraud.
Her motives remained unclear even after the lengthy explanation.
Note
A regular plural that carries every living noun sense of motive with it. Most often it means the reasons behind someone's conduct, and it pairs readily with ulterior or mixed: ulterior motives, mixed motives. In a criminal inquiry it names the reasons for an offense. In British use it can also mean parties or get-togethers, and it serves as a variant spelling of motifs.
motives is a form of motive
motive, noun: A reason, feeling, or incentive that makes someone want to act in a particular way. Full entry
- Forms
- motivemotives plural
- Spelling
- motive → motives: add -s
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /z/.
Use it in a sentence
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