motif
/moʊˈtiːf/
motif noun: a recurring or dominant element; an artistic theme.
Noun
motif (plural motifs)
- A recurring or dominant element; an artistic theme.
- See how the artist repeats the scroll motif throughout the work?
- A short melodic or lyrical passage that is repeated in several parts of a work.
- A decorative figure that is repeated in a design or pattern.
- A decorative appliqué design or figure, as of lace or velvet, used in trimming.
- The physical object or objects repeated at each point of a lattice. Usually atoms or molecules.
- A basic element of a move in terms of why the piece moves and how it supports the fulfilment of a stipulation.
- In a nucleotide or aminoacid sequence, pattern that is widespread and has, or is conjectured to have, a biological significance.
motif meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
motif in Hindi
- motif
- अलंकरण alaṅkaraṇ
motif in Tamil
- உட்கருத்து, கலையின் நடுக்கருத்து, அலங்கார வேலை, நோக்குரு
motif in Urdu
- موضوع
motif in Bengali
- মূলভাব, মোটিফ, নকশা
More languagesFewer languages
- motif in Malayalam
- രൂപകല്പന, മാതൃക, വിതാനം, രൂപം
- motif in Kannada
- ಹುರುಳು, ಆಶಯ, ಮುಖ್ಯೋದ್ದೇಶ
- motif in Gujarati
- મોટિફ
- motif in Odia
- ମୋଟିଫ, ମୋଟିଫ୍, ମୋଥିଫ୍
- motif in Nepali
- मोटिफ
Examples of motif in a sentence
- Pastel colors, platform shoes, babydoll dresses, sparkles, and heart and kiss motifs.
- Reactionary motifs are chic: Trump hats and “tradwife” frocks, monarchist and anti-feminist sentiments.
- The themes and motifs of the prepper movement are having a moment in the mainstream.
Forms of motif
| plural | motifs |
|---|
Origin of motif
From French motif (1848), with the meaning of "main idea or theme". Doublet of motive.
Words formed from motif
Words that rhyme with motif
Questions about motif
- What does motif mean?
- Motif means a recurring or dominant element; an artistic theme.
- What is motif in Hindi?
- Motif in Hindi is अलंकरण (alaṅkaraṇ). See Motif meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is motif?
- Motif is a noun.
- How do you pronounce motif?
- Motif is pronounced /moʊˈtiːf/.
- What is the plural of motif?
- The plural of motif is motifs.
Words near motif in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: motif (page history and authors); अलंकरण (Hindi) (page history and authors); motif (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); motif (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Motif (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); motif (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); motif (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); motif (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); motif (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); motif (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-motif.ogg.
Cite this entry: “motif.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/motif. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.