Conation
[koh-NAY-SHən]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Latin, early 17th century
1.
The mental faculty of purpose, desire, or will to perform an action; volition.
Examples of Conation in a sentence
"Monica had the conation to complete the Boston Marathon."
"Henry was frustrated that he still had the conation to complete his big plans, but the foul weather was stopping him."
About Conation
This word comes from the Latin “conatio(n-),” originally from “conari,” meaning “to try.”
Did you Know?
According to the American Psychological Association, conation is one of three traditionally identified components of the human mind. The other two are cognition and affect. Conation in this sense is “the proactive (as opposed to habitual) part of motivation that connects knowledge, affect, drives, desires, and instincts to behavior.” Sometimes the behavioral basis of attitudes is called the “conative component.”
