Motivational means meant to make people want to act. A motivational speaker, motivational poster, motivational quote.
The word has picked up a faint smell of the industry around it, and motivational poster is now used mockingly as often as not. The research finding that has held up is that motivation follows action more often than it precedes it — starting is what produces the wanting. Note motivate, motive.
1adjectivemotivationalMeant to make people want to act.
“The coach gave a motivational speech at half-time, and the team came back to win.”
motivational is a quality of encouraging.
German
Motivation
French
motivation
English
motivation
English, today
motivational
From motivation + -al. motivation comes from motive + -ation. From motive + ation, probably after French motivation and German Motivation.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA