incentives

noun

plural of incentive
as in encouragements
something that arouses action or activity the handsome reward for the missing dog was an incentive for me to start looking

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of incentives The study adds a new wrinkle to the ongoing debate over whether these increasingly expensive corporate incentives are worth their cost to taxpayers. — Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026 The merger threatens to push production further abroad amid an already ongoing exodus, as well as to other states with cushy tax incentives. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 Aug. 2026 Army says creative incentives are nothing new The GTA 6 offer is new, but reenlistment incentives are common across the Army. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026 Provincial governments, whose leaders face strong incentives to deliver growth, benefit from economic activity whether it is generated by legitimate business expansion or the illicit economy. — Alvin Camba, Foreign Affairs, 21 Aug. 2026 While the project is using several public tax incentives to help financially support its development, Trader Joe’s will not be included in any revenue collection to avoid a cost increase on groceries. — Taylor O'Connor 21, Kansas City Star, 21 Aug. 2026 Reach of local media adds to the equation The decline of local media may also be changing the incentives around debates. — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 15 Aug. 2026 Later can mean 12 months, 12 years, or never, and the system’s incentives quietly favor the last option. — Nick Allardice, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2026 Marketers need to treat the student as the primary decision-maker, using tangible incentives, student-friendly pricing, and direct campus engagement to lower the risk of trying a new product and justify its value well past move-in day. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 14 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incentives
  1. encouragements
  2. impetuses
  3. motivations
  4. stimuli
Noun
  • Many folks send encouragements toward OP mom and her son, while others put heat on the other parents for sexualizing their kids’ friendship.
    — DeVonne Goode, Parents, 26 July 2026
  • All through the park, competitors and onlookers hit vapes and shout tips and encouragements into trees.
    — Calin Van Paris, Outside, 19 Mar. 2026
Definition of encouragements
Noun
  • One of the main impetuses for this is that newer planes are flying further, which means airline routes are getting longer.
    — Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 June 2025
Definition of impetuses
Noun
  • As franchise valuations continue to climb, leagues like the NBA and even the NFL are welcoming new types of deal structures from new types of buyers with new types of motivations.
    — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Meanwhile, a square between Mars and Neptune retrograde is slowly coming together, becoming exact tomorrow, which can make our desires and motivations all the more perplexing.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of motivations
Noun
  • Between these stimuli, strange thoughts move through my semi-conscious mind, the kind of free association that feels normal in sleep and bizarre in life.
    — Veronique Greenwood, Time, 18 Aug. 2026
  • How 40 Hz Sound Therapy Works The treatment is called GENUS, short for gamma entrainment using sensory stimuli.
    — Samantha Agate, Sacbee.com, 13 July 2026
Definition of stimuli

Browse Nearby Words

incentive
incentives
inception
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Cite this Entry

“Incentives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incentives. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on incentives

Nglish: Translation of incentives for Spanish Speakers

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