incentive.
Something that motivates, rouses, or encourages.
Meaning & usage
Something that motivates, rouses, or encourages.
I have no incentive to do housework right now.
A bonus or reward, often monetary, to work harder.
Management offered the sales team a $500 incentive for each car sold.
Where this word comes from
From Medieval Latin incentīvus (“that strikes up or sets the tune”), from incinō (“to strike up”), from in- (“in, on”) + canō (“to sing”) + -ive. The formation appears to have been influenced by incendō (“to set on fire”).
Inciting; encouraging or moving; rousing to action; stimulating.
Serving to kindle or set on fire.
Where this word comes from
From Medieval Latin incentīvus (“that strikes up or sets the tune”), from incinō (“to strike up”), from in- (“in, on”) + canō (“to sing”) + -ive. The formation appears to have been influenced by incendō (“to set on fire”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.