motives

1. the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behaviorExamples: "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives"Synonyms: motivation, motive, need

2. a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of musicSynonyms: motif, motive

3. a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decorationSynonyms: motif, motive

4. a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decorationSynonyms: motif, motive

5. a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of musicSynonyms: motif, motive

6. a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic workExamples: "it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme"Synonyms: motif, theme