motivare

to motivate; to justify

verb moh-tee-VAH-reh Rare

Usage Note

Motivare has two distinct uses: to motivate someone psychologically (motivare i dipendenti = to motivate the employees) and in legal/formal writing to justify or give grounds for a decision (motivare una sentenza = to set out the reasons for a ruling). The noun is la motivazione.

Examples

"L'allenatore sa come motivare i giocatori."

Natural Translation

The coach knows how to motivate the players.

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