1
as in demands
to ask for (something) earnestly or with authority
every war inevitably exacts the greatest sacrifice possible from some of the nation's best and brightest
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in imposes
to establish or apply as a charge or penalty
vowed to exact a heavy fine from any hockey player engaging in such outrageous behavior on the ice
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of exacts
All of this exacts a fuzzy psychological toll.
—
Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
One game for the division (and the division’s one playoff spot)… And Seattle exacts revenge for 2019.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
All the other cord cutting exacts its pound of flesh!
—Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
One game for the division (and the division’s one playoff spot)… And Seattle exacts revenge for 2019.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2025
All the other cord cutting exacts its pound of flesh!
—Brett Owens, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exacts
Verb
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Teddy demands that Michelle take him and Don to her Andromedan leader in the hope of forcing the invaders to retreat.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
-
This isn’t healthful in-person power play, which demands from its participants certain sensitivities, or at least the social acumen to leave one’s home and look another person in the eye.—
Daniel Kolitz,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Perplexity imposes limitations on file uploads for free users, but its documentation doesn't specify exactly what those are.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Cosmologists and mathematical physicists often seek ways to circumvent the theorem, looking to quantum gravity (or other non-standard scenarios) to break us out of the requirements that general relativity imposes.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Verghese estimated the world requires 593 million hectares of land—which is equivalent to twice the size of India—every year for crop cultivation at current productivity growth rates to meet that challenge.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
28 Oct. 2025
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The Minnesota Vikings are liable to act quickly in their effort to replace backup quarterback Carson Wentz, who will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury that requires surgery to repair.—
Max Dible,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And now, one such creation slithers, squeezes, and twists through the narrowest corners.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
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The surgeon withdraws the balloon and then squeezes the implant in through a sterile funnel before closing the incision.—
Jolene Edgar,
Allure,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Exacts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exacts. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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