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; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives"
the act of motivating; providing incentive
the condition of being motivated; "his motivation was at a high level"
strikingly beautiful or attractive; "quite stunning with large dark eyes and a beautiful high-bosomed figure"; "stunning photographs of Canada's wilderness areas"
causing or capable of causing bewilderment or shock or insensibility; "laid the poor fellow senseless with one stunning blow"; "a stunning detonation with volumes of black smoke"
causing great astonishment and consternation; "the strike came as a stunning protest against management"; "a stunning defeat"
markedly different from the usual; "a peculiar hobby of stuffing and mounting bats"; "a man...feels it a peculiar insult to be taunted with cowardice by a woman"-Virginia Woolf
a relaxation or slackening of tensions or reserve; becoming less hostile; "the thaw between the United States and Russia has led to increased cooperation in world affairs"
warm weather following a freeze; snow and ice melt; "they welcomed the spring thaw"
the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid; "the power failure caused a refrigerator melt that was a disaster"; "the thawing of a frozen turkey takes several hours"
encountered generally especially at the present time; "the prevailing opinion was that a trade war could be averted"; "the most prevalent religion in our area"; "speculation concerning the books author was rife"