Both Uses
motive
in
The Red-headed League
(Auto-generated)
- From the time that I heard of the assistant having come for half wages, it was obvious to me that he had some strong motive for securing the situation.†
*motive = reason (for doing something)
- But how could you guess what the motive was?†
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.