motivate-v; 2 Senses

Sense Number 1: Give an incentive or reason for action.

Commentary:
NOTE: MOTIVATE precedes action of another verb. Also, pay careful attention to passive uses of this verb. If you are unsure which sense a passive sentence belongs in, convert it into an active voice. For example, sentence 4 could be seen as 'A sports fantasy motivated Michael Jordan to contiue his career.'

Examples:
This motivated me to sacrifice my career.
The is little to motivate gold traders to buy the metal.
The company motivates sales people with commissions.
Michael Jordan was motivated by a sports fantasy to continue his carreer.

Mappings:
VerbNet: force-59
FrameNet: NP
PropBank: motivate.01
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1

Sense Number 2: Justify.

Commentary:
NOTE: MOTIVATE follows the action of another verb.

Examples:
Motivate your key assumptions and general modeling approach.
Be sure to motivate your analysis.

Mappings:
VerbNet: NP
FrameNet: NP
PropBank: motivate.02