incentive
in-SEN-tiv
/ɪnˈsɛn.tɪv/
A thing that motivates or encourages someone to do something; a reward offered for action.
Emphasizes tangible or structural rewards that spark motivation.
The story behind the word. Incentive stems from Latin 'incinere' (to play a tune or chant), derived from 'canere' (to sing). Just as ancient military trumpets or work songs set the pace and energized workers, an incentive 'tunes up' human motivation.
Word relationships
- stimulus: Stimulus provokes an immediate reaction; incentive provides a planned external reward.
- deterrent: Something that discourages or prevents action through fear or penalty.
Commonly confused with
- motive: A motive is an internal desire or feeling; an incentive is an external reward offered to stir action.
Word family
- incentivize (verb): To motivate by offering rewards.
- incentivization (noun): The practice or act of offering incentives.
Collocations
- financial incentive
- tax incentive
- strong incentive
- perverse incentive
Idioms & expressions
- carrots and sticks
Example sentences
- "The government offered a tax incentive to companies that invested in solar energy installation." Economic policy
- "An end-of-year bonus served as a powerful incentive for the sales team to exceed targets." Corporate sales
Memory hook
INCENTIVE sets your MOTIVATION in CENTer stage. External reward driving action.
When not to use
Do not use for punishment or negative threats; that is a deterrent.
Fun facts
- In ancient Rome, an 'incentivum' was a musical melody played to set the cadence for marchers or dancers.
Explore more words
Also appears in
- Emotions → Motivation & Ambition
- Business → Sales & Customer Service
- Business → Compensation & Benefits
- Finance → Microeconomics & Consumer Behavior
- Economic Theory & Analysis → Game Theory & Strategic Behavior
- Economic Theory & Analysis → Behavioral Economics
- Economic Theory & Analysis → Cryptoeconomics
- Psychology → Motivation & Drive
- Psychology → Occupational Psychology
- Shopping & Consumer Retail → Discounts & Bargaining
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.