VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

driven

adjective, verb·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˈdrɪvn/
US/ˈdrɪvn/

Meanings

  1. adjectivecomparableapproving

    Pushed by a strong inner need to succeed, so you work very hard for a goal.

    Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a driven student, she is driven.

    Patterns

    • driven by something
    • highly driven

    She is a driven athlete who trains before dawn every day.

    The young founder was driven by a wish to prove her doubters wrong.

    He is so driven that he rarely takes a day off.

  2. adjectivebefore a nounbusiness

    Powered, caused or shaped by a particular thing, often as a combining form.

    Grammar: Often joins to a noun with a hyphen: data-driven, market-driven.

    Patterns

    • data-driven
    • driven by something

    The company uses data-driven decisions.

    Prices in a market-driven economy change quickly.

    It was a story driven by emotion.

  3. verbtransitive

    Past participle of drive: moved, carried or operated, especially in a vehicle.

    Grammar: Used after has, have or had, or in the passive: has driven, was driven.

    Patterns

    • has driven something
    • was driven to something

    I have driven this road many times.

    She was driven to the airport by her aunt.

    The old truck had been driven for decades.

  4. verbtransitive

    Past participle meaning forced into a state or action.

    Grammar: Used passively with to: driven to despair.

    Patterns

    • driven to something
    • driven out of somewhere

    Hunger had driven the animals into town.

    He felt driven to quit after years of stress.

    Residents were driven from their homes by the flood.

Word forms

base form of the verbdrive
past tensedrove

Common combinations

highly driven
She is highly driven and rarely satisfied.
data-driven
We make data-driven decisions.
driven by passion
He is driven by passion for the work.
driven to
He was driven to tears by the news.
goal-driven
The team is goal-driven.
driven out
The shop was driven out of business.

Synonyms and how they differ

motivated
Motivated is milder and means having a reason to act, but driven suggests a powerful, almost compulsive need.
ambitious
Ambitious focuses on wanting success, while driven describes the energy that pushes someone.
determined
Determined stresses refusing to give up, whereas driven stresses being pushed from within.
obsessive
Obsessive is negative and suggests an unhealthy fixation, so it is stronger than driven.

Opposites

apatheticlazyunmotivated

Word family

drive noun
energy and determination
drive verb
to operate a vehicle, or to push someone
driver noun
a person who operates a vehicle, or a main cause
drivenness noun
the quality of being highly motivated

Commonly confused: driven or drove?

driven vs drove

Drove is the simple past (he drove home), while driven needs a helper like has or was (he has driven home).

Practice

Maya has ____ the same route to work every day for ten years.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “driven”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words