Motive vs. Rationale — What's the Difference?

An emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action.

The fundamental reasons for something; the basis

(mōtĭv, mō-tēv) A motif in art, literature, or music.

An explanation of the basis or fundamental reasons for something.en

Causing or able to cause motion

A justification or rationalization for something.

Causing an action

A liturgical vestment worn by some Christian bishops of various denominations.

(obsolete) An idea or communication that makes one want to act, especially from spiritual sources; a divine prompting.

An explanation or exposition of the principles of some opinion, action, hypothesis, phenomenon, or the like; also, the principles themselves.

An incentive to act in a particular way; a reason or emotion that makes one want to do something; anything that prompts a choice of action.

(law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature);

A limb or other bodily organ that can move.

(law) Something which causes someone to want to commit a crime; a reason for criminal behaviour.

A motif.

(music) A motif; a theme or subject, especially one that is central to the work or often repeated.

(transitive) To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.

Causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move

Relating to motion and/or to its cause

That which moves; a mover.

That which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choise, or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object; motivation{2}.

The theme or subject; a leading phrase or passage which is reproduced and varied through the course of a comor a movement; a short figure, or melodic germ, out of which a whole movement is develpoed. See also Leading motive, under Leading.

That which produces conception, invention, or creation in the mind of the artist in undertaking his subject; the guiding or controlling idea manifested in a work of art, or any part of one.

Causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move; as, a motive argument; motive power.

To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.

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 behavior;

A theme that is elaborated on in a piece of music

Causing or able to cause motion;

Impelling to action;