'Motivation' definitions:

Definition of 'motivation'

From: WordNet
noun
The psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives" [syn: motivation, motive, need]
noun
The condition of being motivated; "his motivation was at a high level"
noun
The act of motivating; providing incentive [syn: motivation, motivating]

Definition of 'Motivation'

From: GCIDE
  • Motivate \Mo"ti*vate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. -vated; p. pr. & vb. n. -vating.] [From Motive, n.] To provide with a motive; to move; impel; induce; incite. -- {Mo`ti*va"tion}, n. --William James.
  • Syn: move, prompt, incite, induce impel, drive. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

Definition of 'motivation'

From: GCIDE
  • motivation \motivation\ n.
  • 1. The act or process of motivating. [PJC]
  • 2. The mental process that arouses an organism to action; as, a large part of a teacher's job is to give students the motivation to learn on their own.
  • Syn: motive, need. [WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
  • 3. The goal or mental image of a goal that creates a motivation[2]; as, the image of a peaceful world is a powerful motivation for only a rare few individuals. [PJC]