Incentive
Something that motivates or encourages a person to take a particular action; a reward or stimulus.
nounIncentive
Something that motivates or encourages a person to take a particular action; a reward or stimulus.
nounImagine This
Imagine a student who wants a new laptop. The school offers a scholarship as an incentive for achieving top grades, so the promise of the scholarship motivates the student to study harder.
Sounds Like
in-SEN-tiv
Looks Like
incent-ive, visually composed of 'incent' + 'ive' (similar to related forms like incentivize)
Remember This
Etymology: from Latin incitare 'to urge on', via Old French incentif, leading to the English noun incentive. It carries the sense of something that stirs action.
Other Forms
Connect With
motivation, inducement, stimulus, reward, spur
Note
Used as a countable noun: 'an incentive' or 'incentives'. The related verb is incentivize. Be careful not to confuse with 'disincentive', which discourages action.