incentive

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: in=cen=tive

CIDE DICTIONARY

incentive, a. [L. incentivus, from incinere to strike up or set the tune; pref. in- + canere to sing. See Enchant, Chant.].

•  Inciting; encouraging or moving; rousing to action; stimulative.  [1913 Webster]

  "Competency is the most incentive to industry."  [1913 Webster]
•  Serving to kindle or set on fire.  [1913 Webster]

  "Part incentive reed
  Provide, pernicious with one touch of fire."  Milton.  [1913 Webster]

incentive, n. [L. incentivum.].

 That which moves or influences the mind, or operates on the passions; that which incites, or has a tendency to incite, to determination or action; that which prompts to good or ill; motive; spur; as, the love of money, and the desire of promotion, are two powerful incentives to action.  [1913 Webster]
"The greatest obstacles, the greatest terrors that come in their way, are so far from making them quit the work they had begun, that they rather prove incentives to them to go on in it."

Syn. -- Motive; spur; stimulus; incitement; encouragement; inducement; influence.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

incentive, n. & adj.
--n.
1 (often foll. by to) a motive or incitement, esp. to action.
2 a payment or concession to stimulate greater output by workers.
--adj. serving to motivate or incite.

Etymology

ME f. L incentivus setting the tune f. incinere incent- sing to (as IN-(2), canere sing)

THESAURUS

incentive

agitational, agitative, bait, bribe, carrot, catalyst, clout, compulsion, drive, driving force, encouragement, enticement, fillip, fomenting, goad, impellent, impelling force, impetus, impulse, impulsion, incendiary, incitement, inciting, incitive, inducement, inflammatory, instigating, instigative, interest, invitation, irresistible force, lure, moment, momentum, motivation, motive power, payment, percentage, persuasive, power, prod, profit, propulsion, provocation, rabble-rousing, reward, spur, stimulant, stimulation, stimulative, stimulus, sweetener, sweetening, thrust, whet

ROGET THESAURUS

incentive

Motive

N motive, springs of action, wellsprings of action, reason, ground, call, principle, by end, by purpose, mainspring, primum mobile, keystone, the why and the wherefore, pro and con, reason why, secret motive, arriere pensee, intention, inducement, consideration, attraction, loadstone, magnet, magnetism, magnetic force, allectation, allective, temptation, enticement, agacerie, allurement, witchery, bewitchment, bewitchery, charm, spell, fascination, blandishment, cajolery, seduction, seducement, honeyed words, voice of the tempter, song of the Sirens forbidden fruit, golden apple, persuasibility, persuasibleness, attractability, impressibility, susceptibility, softness, persuasiveness, attractiveness, tantalization, influence, prompting, dictate, instance, impulse, impulsion, incitement, incitation, press, instigation, provocation, inspiration, persuasion, suasion, encouragement, advocacy, exhortation, advice, solicitation, lobbyism, pull, incentive, stimulus, spur, fillip, whip, goad, ankus, rowel, provocative, whet, dram, bribe, lure, decoy, decoy duck, bait, trail of a red herring, bribery and corruption, sop, sop for Cerberus, prompter, tempter, seducer, seductor, instigator, firebrand, incendiary, Siren, Circe, agent provocateur, lobbyist, impulsive, motive, suasive, suasory, persuasive, persuasory, hortative, hortatory, protreptical, inviting, tempting suasive, suasory, seductive, attractive, fascinating, provocative, induced, disposed, persuadable, spellbound, instinct with, smitten with, infatuated, inspired, by, because, therefore, from this motive, from that motive, for this reason, for that reason, for, by reason of, for the sake of, count of, out of, from, as, forasmuch as, for all the world, on principle, fax mentis incendium gloriae, temptation hath a music for all ears, to beguile many and be beguiled by one.