motive
1
7.5
- noun
- /ˈmoʊtɪv/
- Specialized
- "Right now our people like the painting as the motive, though." "It adds romance," Walter said.
Examples
-
Choose a motive for the bathroom.
Blog text (11) -
Though boys also reported that searching for information was their main motivation for going online, socializing and boredom avoidance tied as their second-ranked motive.
Academic text (2008) -
We have a sea motive that we want to put up here.
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What is your favorite motive in in flora?
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Only then do the Kurtners tell us that devices have been invented that read the impressions light waves make on the walls around them, allowing the tracing of motives.
Academic text (2011) -
The aesthetic motive is very feeble in a lot of writers, but even a pamphleteer or writer of textbooks will have pet words and phrases that appeal to him for non-utilitarian reasons, or he may feel strongly about typography, width of margins, etc.
Blog text (3) -
The artist used a floral motive to enhance the beauty of the building's entrance.
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In the craft store, I found a fabric with a lovely geometric motive that would be perfect for my quilt.
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The wallpaper features a beautiful repeating motive that adds charm to the room.
Synonyms
190
2.8
A repeated design like shapes or flowers on cloth
49
3.3
A pattern or picture used to decorate a surface
19
5.3
A repeated decorative design used on clothes, walls or buildings
Compounds
How Complex
Surface Forms
Etymology
Motive (like the word motif) comes from Latin movere 'to move', and a repeated design is called a motive because the pattern helps the eye move across a surface. So a motive in art is a short visual idea that gives rhythm and flow.