Meaning & use
highly self-motivated
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having a strong inner drive to start work and keep going without being pushed by other people.
Grammar: Used mainly before a noun or after linking verbs like be, seem, and become; 'highly' makes the quality stronger and more formal than 'very'.
Patterns
- be highly self-motivated
- a highly self-motivated person
- highly self-motivated in something
- become highly self-motivated
She is highly self-motivated and finished the whole project two weeks early.
Employers often look for highly self-motivated graduates who can work with little supervision.
He became highly self-motivated once he chose a topic he actually cared about.
adjectivecomparable
Working hard on your own studies or training because you want to, not because a teacher makes you.
Grammar: Common in descriptions of learners and employees; it describes a lasting habit, not a single action.
Patterns
- a highly self-motivated learner
- highly self-motivated students
- highly self-motivated in your studies
Highly self-motivated learners often set their own weekly goals.
The course suits highly self-motivated students who can study online without reminders.
As a highly self-motivated athlete, she trains every morning before school.
Word forms
| comparative | more highly self-motivated |
|---|---|
| superlative | most highly self-motivated |
Common combinations
- highly self-motivated individual
- The ad asks for a highly self-motivated individual who can work from home.
- highly self-motivated employee
- A highly self-motivated employee rarely needs to be told what to do next.
- highly self-motivated learner
- The app was designed for the highly self-motivated learner.
- remain highly self-motivated
- Even after months of remote work, he remained highly self-motivated.
- highly self-motivated and organized
- She is highly self-motivated and organized, so deadlines never worry her.
Synonyms and how they differ
- driven
- Focuses on strong ambition and the wish to succeed, which may come from pressure rather than quiet inner discipline.
- self-directed
- Emphasizes managing your own work and choices; it says less about how hard you push yourself.
- independent
- Means you can work without help, but it does not necessarily mean you are eager or energetic.
Opposites
Word family
- self-motivation noun
- The inner desire that makes you act without outside pressure.
- motivate verb
- To make someone want to do something or work hard.
- motivated adjective
- Keen and willing to work, often because of a clear reason or goal.
- motivation noun
- The reason or force that makes someone want to act.
Commonly confused: highly self-motivated or self-motivating? highly self-motivated or highly motivated?
highly self-motivated vs self-motivating
This describes a task or job that makes you want to keep doing it, not a person; a self-motivating project is interesting in itself.
highly self-motivated vs highly motivated
This simply means very keen, and it can describe someone pushed by a boss or a reward; 'self-motivated' stresses that the push comes from inside.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option A describes a person who drives herself, which is the meaning of the phrase. Option B wrongly treats it as a passive verb with 'by', option C uses it as a verb with an object, and option D invents a verb form that does not exist.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “highly self-motivated”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.