Meaning & use
driving
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Very strong and forceful, as when wind, rain or effort pushes hard in one direction.
Grammar: Comes before the noun: a driving rain, not the rain was driving.
Patterns
- driving rain
- a driving force
We walked home through driving rain with our coats pulled tight.
A driving beat kept the dancers moving all night.
Her driving ambition pushed her to finish the degree in three years.
adjectivebefore a noun
Providing the energy, motive or reason that makes something happen or advance.
Grammar: Often in the phrase driving force: curiosity was the driving force behind the project.
Patterns
- the driving force behind something
Fear of failure was the driving factor in his careful planning.
Customer demand is the driving force behind the redesign.
noununcountable
The activity of controlling a car or other road vehicle, or the way someone does it.
Grammar: No plural and no article before general use: driving tires me out.
Patterns
- driving to somewhere
- driving in something
Driving in heavy traffic makes her nervous.
His driving improved a lot after he took lessons.
Careless driving can lead to a fine.
Common combinations
- driving rain
- Driving rain forced the match to be postponed.
- a driving force
- Competition is the driving force in this market.
- driving lessons
- She books driving lessons every Saturday.
- a driving test
- He passed his driving test at the second attempt.
- reckless driving
- Reckless driving put the other motorists at risk.
- a driving license
- Please show a valid driving license at the counter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- forceful
- Forceful describes strong people or arguments, while driving fits weather, rhythm or ambition that pushes forward.
- relentless
- Relentless stresses that something never lets up, whereas driving stresses its push and speed.
- motivating
- Motivating names what inspires action, but driving suggests the push is also powerful and constant.
- pelting
- Pelting is used mainly of rain falling hard, so it is narrower than driving.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: driving or driven?
driving vs driven
Driven is the past participle of drive and as an adjective means very determined. Driving describes the force doing the pushing.
Practice
We hurried inside to escape the ___ rain.
Choose one answer.
Driving is the adjective that means very strong and forceful, so driving rain is the right phrase. The other options are verb forms and cannot modify a noun here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “driving”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.