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Incentive vs Stimulus - What's the difference?

incentive | stimulus |

As nouns the difference between incentive and stimulus

is that incentive is something that motivates, rouses, or encourages while stimulus is anything that may have an impact or influence on a system.

As an adjective incentive

is inciting; encouraging or moving; rousing to action; stimulating.

incentive

English

(wikipedia incentive)

Noun

(en noun)
  • Something that motivates, rouses, or encourages.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
    • , volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Fantasy of navigation , passage=It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].}}
  • A bonus or reward, often monetary, to work harder.

    • Antonyms

    * disincentive

    Derived terms

    * incentivise/incentivize, tax incentive

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Inciting; encouraging or moving; rousing to action; stimulating.
  • * Dr. H. More
    • Competency is the most incentive to industry.
  • Serving to kindle or set on fire.
  • * Milton
    • Part incentive reed / Provide, pernicious with one touch of fire.

    External links

    * * ----

    stimulus

    English

    (wikipedia stimulus)

    Noun

    (stimuli)
  • (rfc-sense) Anything that may have an impact or influence on a system.
    • an economic stimulus
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=November 7, author=Matt Bai, title=Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=Democrats, meanwhile, point out that Republicans seem to have made a conscious decision, beginning with the stimulus , to oppose anything the president put forward, dooming any chance of renewed cooperation between the parties.}}
  • (rfc-sense) (physiology) Something external that elicits or influences a physiological or psychological activity or response.
  • (rfc-sense) (psychology) Anything effectively impinging upon any of the sensory apparatuses of a living organism, including physical phenomena both internal and external to the body.
  • (rfc-sense) Anything that induces a person to take action.

    • Synonyms

    * (anything that may have an impact or influence) influence * (anything that induces a person to take action) impetus, impulse, spur