SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
incentive
noun
Something that encourages or motivates action.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Encouragement to act
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topA reward can serve as an incentive; a motive is the person's reason for acting and may not be externally supplied.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See incentive in use
The chance to read their work aloud gave the writers an incentive to revise.
A small incentive for keeping the original collection date encouraged members to notice the future consequence before rushing to take what was available first.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license