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Meaning & use

driving forces

noun·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˈdraɪvɪŋ ˈfɔːsɪz/
US/ˈdraɪvɪŋ ˈfɔːrsɪz/

“driving forces” is a form of “driving force”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.

Meanings

  1. nounplural

    The main causes or influences that make something happen or change.

    Grammar: Plural of driving force; usually followed by behind: the driving forces behind change.

    Patterns

    • the driving forces behind something
    • the main driving forces of something

    Cheap energy and new technology were the driving forces of the industrial boom.

    Historians debate the driving forces behind the revolution.

    Curiosity and competition are the driving forces in scientific research.

  2. nounplural

    The people who supply the energy, ideas or leadership that push a project or group forward.

    Grammar: Refers to people here: two driving forces of the team.

    Patterns

    • the driving forces in something
    • the driving forces behind someone

    The two founders were the driving forces behind the charity.

    Several teachers became the driving forces of the school's reform.

    She and her brother were the driving forces in the band.

Word forms

singulardriving force

Common combinations

the driving forces behind
What are the driving forces behind rising prices?
main driving forces
Trade and migration were the main driving forces of the city's growth.
key driving forces
The report lists the key driving forces of the market.
economic driving forces
Economic driving forces shaped the policy.
become the driving forces
Young people have become the driving forces of the movement.

Synonyms and how they differ

motivations
Motivations are reasons inside a person's mind, while driving forces can be outside causes as well.
catalysts
A catalyst starts or speeds up a change, whereas a driving force keeps pushing it along.
engines
Engines is a more figurative word, usually used in phrases like engine of growth.
causes
Causes is a neutral word, but driving forces suggests the strongest and most active causes.

Opposites

obstaclesbrakes

Word family

driving force noun
the singular form, one main cause or leader
drive noun
energy and determination, or an organized effort
driven adjective
strongly motivated to succeed
driver noun
a factor that causes growth or change

Commonly confused: driving forces or drive forces?

driving forces vs drive forces

The phrase is driving forces, using the -ing form as an adjective; drive forces is not the fixed expression.

Practice

Historians still argue about the ___ behind the collapse of the empire.

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