D. D. Eisenhower
Did you know?
Exact derives from a form of the Latin verb exigere, meaning "to drive out, to demand, or to measure." (Another descendant of exigere is the word exigent, which can mean "demanding" or "requiring immediate attention.") Exigere, in turn, was formed by combining the prefix ex- with the verb agere, meaning "to drive." Agere has been a prolific source of words for English speakers; it is the ancestor of agent, react, mitigate, and navigate, just to name a few. Incidentally, if you are looking for a synonym of the verb exact, you could try demand, call for, claim, or require.
Did you know?
Do you exact or extract revenge?
The verb exact (as in, "exacting revenge" or "exacting a promise") is not as commonly encountered as the adjective exact, (as in "an exact copy" or "exact measurements"). Sometimes people will mistakenly use the more common verb extract when they really want exact. Extract can refer to removing something by pulling or cutting or to getting information from someone who does not want to give it. While both words refer to getting something they are used in different ways. You extract a tooth, but you exact revenge.
Synonyms
Examples of exact in a Sentence
David Pierson, New York Times, 1 Apr. 2024
Akbar Gbajabiamila finally exacted his revenge against O'Connell on April Fools' Day, after plotting for two years.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2024
However, his true motive is to exact revenge on the judge responsible for his incarceration.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
Monday’s vote erases much of the leverage White might have had to exact those promises from the Chiefs and the Royals.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
This wasn’t charity; like all professionals, artists can be exacting and demanding and quirky.
—Jason Kersten, Rolling Stone, 23 Mar. 2024
The Clippers had to try to exact their revenge on the Milwaukee Bucks without stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George because both were dealing with injuries and were not available to play in the game on back-to-back days.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024
The election comes after more than two years of war which have exacted huge costs on the Russian population.
—Christian Edwards, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024
Persuading far-right members of the House to keep the government open is strategic—a means to preserve Republican congressional seats and to exact future cuts.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2024
Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
The exact financial toll of Wednesday's quake is still being assessed.
—Bobby Allyn, NPR, 3 Apr. 2024
Archaeologists attributed all the finds to the Earlier or Middle Stone Age but did not specify an exact age.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
Cobb-Smith told CNN missile fragments would be needed to definitively identify the exact munition used in the strike.
—Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024
While the exact cause of Havana syndrome remains unknown, the Insider investigation suggests that it may be linked to possible sonic weaponry from Russia.
—Nik Popli, TIME, 1 Apr. 2024
Neither Spotify nor Amazon Music’s posts provided an exact number for the record-breaking streams.
—Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024
The exact figures are hard to come by, but 61,937 of third quarter 2023 fleet sales were salary sacrifice, and 42% of Q3 fleet sales were BEVs.
—James Morris, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Some people developed kidney problems after taking the supplements, but the exact cause was still under investigation in cooperation with government laboratories, according to the manufacturer.
—Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'exact.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Exact.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exact. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
exact
1 of 2 verb
exact
2 of 2 adjective
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