All 5 Uses
motive
in
Heart of Darkness
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- They were at a loss for an adequate motive.†
Chpt 2motive = reason (for doing something)
- I did not know the motive.†
Chpt 2 *
- Yes; I looked at them as you would on any human being, with a curiosity of their impulses, motives, capacities, weaknesses, when brought to the test of an inexorable physical necessity.†
Chpt 2motives = reasons for doing something
- 'Of course you must take care of the motives—right motives—always.'†
Chpt 3
- 'Of course you must take care of the motives—right motives—always.'†
Chpt 3
Definitions:
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(1)
(motive as in: What is her motive?) a reason for doing something
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Less commonly, motive can refer to something that causes motion in an inanimate object. Even less commonly, it can refer to a distinctive feature in music, art, or literature.