Motive vs Action - What's the difference?
motive | action | Related terms |
(obsolete) An idea or communication that makes one want to act, especially from spiritual sources; a divine prompting.
*, III.2.1.ii:
*:there's something in a woman beyond all human delight; a magnetic virtue, a charming quality, an occult and powerful motive .
An incentive to act in a particular way; a reason or emotion that makes one want to do something; anything that prompts a choice of action.
* 1947 , (Malcolm Lowry), Under the Volcano :
(obsolete, rare) A limb or other bodily organ that can move.
(legal) Something which causes someone to want to commit a crime; a reason for criminal behaviour.
* {{quote-book, year=1931, author=
, chapter=10/6, title= (architecture, fine arts) A motif.
(music) A motif; a theme or subject, especially one that is central to the work or often repeated.
To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.
Causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move; as, a motive argument; motive power.
* 1658 , Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus , Folio Society 2007, p. 195:
Relating to motion and/or to its cause
Something done so as to accomplish a purpose.
A way of motion or functioning.
A fast-paced activity.
A mechanism; a moving part or assembly.
(music): The mechanism, that is the set of moving mechanical parts, of a keyboard instrument, like a piano, which transfers the motion of the key to the sound-making device.Marshall Cavendish Corporation
(slang) sexual intercourse.
The distance separating the strings and the fretboard on the guitar.
(military) Combat.
(legal) A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio ).
(mathematics) A mapping from a pairing of mathematical objects to one of them, respecting their individual structures. The pairing is typically a Cartesian product or a tensor product. The object that is not part of the output is said to act'' on the other object. In any given context, ''action'' is used as an abbreviation for a more fully named notion, like group action or ''left group action.
The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events.
(art, painting and sculpture) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.
(bowling) spin put on the bowling ball.
(business, obsolete, a Gallicism) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds.
* Burke
Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually an act or scene of a theatric performance.
(management) To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect.
* {{quote-book, year=2004
, publisher=Pearson Education
, author=Ros Jay, Richard Templar
, title=Fast Thinking Manager's Manual
, edition=Second edition
, chapter=Fast thinking: project
, section=Fast Thinking Leader
* {{quote-book, year=2005
, publisher=Routledge
, author=Fritz Liebreich
, title=Britain's Navel and Political Reaction to the Illegal Immigration of Jews to Palestine, 1945-1948
, chapter=The physical confrontation: interception and diversion policies in theory and practice
* {{quote-book, year=2007
, publisher=The Stationery Office
, editor=
, author=Great Britain: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
, title=Tax Credits: Getting it wrong? 5th report session 2006-2007
, chapter=Case study: 11257
, section=Chapter 2: Changes and developments since June 2005
(transitive, chiefly, archaic) To initiate a legal action against someone.
* {{quote-book, year=1856
, publisher=Stringer & Townsend
, author=Thomas Chandler Haliburton
, title=The Attaché: or Sam Slick in England
, section=Chapter XLVII: The Horse Stealer; or All Trades Have Tricks But Our Own
, edition=New Revised Edition
* {{quote-book, year=1844
, year_published=
, publisher=T. C. Newby
, author=Robert Mackenzie Daniel
, title=The Grave Digger: A novel by the author of The Scottish Heiress
, volume=I
, section=Chapter IX: How the Grave-differ entertained a lady
* {{quote-book, year=1871
, year_published=2002
, publisher=Oxford University Press US
, author=Michael Shermer
, quotee=(Alfred Russell Wallace)
, title=In Darwin’s shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russell Wallace
, section=Chapter 10. Heretic Personality
* {{quote-book, year=1996
, publisher=Boydell & Brewer
, author=Darryl Mark Ogier
, title=Reformation and Society in Guernsey
, chapter=Discipline: Enforcement
, section=Part Two: The Calvinist Regime
Motive is a related term of action.
As verbs the difference between motive and action
is that motive is while action is (management) to act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect.As a noun action is
something done so as to accomplish a purpose.As an interjection action is
demanding or signifying the start of something, usually an act or scene of a theatric performance.motive
English
Noun
(en noun)- Many of them at first seemed kind to him, but it turned out their motives were not entirely altruistic.
- (Shakespeare)
- What would his motive be for burning down the cottage?
- No-one could understand why she had hidden the shovel; her motives were obscure at best.
Death Walks in Eastrepps, passage=“Why should Eldridge commit murder?
- If you listen carefully, you can hear the flutes mimicking the cello motive .
Synonyms
* (incentive ) motivation * (creative works ) motifVerb
Synonyms
* motivateAdjective
(-)- In the motive parts of animals may be discovered mutuall proportions; not only in those of Quadrupeds, but in the thigh-bone, legge, foot-bone, and claws of Birds.
Synonyms
* moving * (relating to motion) motionalExternal links
* * *Anagrams
* ----action
English
(wikipedia action)Noun
(en noun)- Knead bread with a rocking action .
- an action movie
- a rifle action
Growing Up with Sciencep.1079
- She gave him some action .
- He saw some action in the Korean War.
- The Euripus of funds and actions .
Derived terms
* actioner * action hero * action item * action man * action movie * action star * actions speak louder than words * direct action * ! * lost in action * missing in action * piece of the action * social action * take actionSee also
* deed *Interjection
(en interjection)- The director yelled ‘Action !’ before the camera started rolling.
Verb
(en verb)citation, isbn=9780273681052 , page=276 , passage=‘Here, give me the minutes of Monday’s meeting. I’ll action your points for you while you get on and sort out the open day.’}}
citation, isbn=9780714656373 , page=196 , passage=Violent reactions from the Jewish authorities were expected and difficulties of actioning the new guidelines were foreseen.}}
citation, isbn=9780102951172 , page=26 , passage=HMRC said that one reason they had not actioned her appeal was because she had said in her appeal form ‘I am appealing against the overpayment for childcare for 2003-04, 2004-05’, thus implying she was disputing her ‘overpayment’.}}
citation, page=270 , passage=‘I have no business to settle with you—arrest me, Sir, at your peril and I’ll action you in law for false imprisonment.’}}
citation, pages=189-190 , passage=“Scrip threatened me at first with an action for slander—he spoke of actions to the wrong man though—action! no, no no. I should have actioned him—ha! ha! [...]”}}
citation, isbn=9780195148305 , page=261 , passage=I have actioned him for Libel, but he won’t plead, and says he will make himself bankrupt & won’t pay a penny.}}
citation, isbn=9780851156033 , page=148 , passage=In 1589 the Court went so far as to effect a reconciliation between Michel le Petevin and his wife after she actioned him for ill treatment and adultery with their chambermaid.}}