Meaning & use
incentives
Last updated
UK/ɪnˈsen.tɪvz/
US/ɪnˈsen.t̬ɪvz/
“incentives” is a form of “incentive”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounplural
Rewards or benefits offered to encourage people to act in a certain way.
Grammar: Plural of incentive; the singular is a countable noun: one incentive, many incentives.
Patterns
- incentives for someone to do something
- incentives to do something
The city offers tax incentives to new businesses.
Bonuses are incentives that push employees to work harder.
Word forms
| singular | incentive |
|---|
Common combinations
- financial incentives
- Financial incentives encouraged families to install solar panels.
- tax incentives
- Tax incentives attracted several factories.
- offer incentives
- Stores offer incentives to bring back old customers.
- provide incentives
- Governments provide incentives to reduce pollution.
- incentives to save
- There are few incentives to save when interest rates are low.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rewards
- Given after an action, while incentives are offered beforehand to motivate.
- perks
- Informal extras that come with a job, not always tied to an action.
- inducements
- More formal, and can imply persuasion or temptation.
Opposites
disincentives
Word family
- incentive noun
- something that motivates
- incentivize verb
- to give someone an incentive
- disincentive noun
- something that discourages
Practice
The company created ______ to encourage workers to cycle to the office.
Choose one answer.
Incentives are rewards that motivate behavior. The other words look similar but do not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “incentives”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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