as in to urge
to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action
the speaker exhorted the graduating students to go forth and try to make a difference in the world
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Recent Examples of exhort
Dezenzo exhorted local organizations to coordinate with the Planning Board to present a united community front and improve chances for success.
—
Steven Mihailovich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Coaches exhorted George to keep shooting — and so did Poole.
—Josh Robbins, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
The sans-serif typeface closely resembles that of the intertitles seen in Octavio Getino and Fernando Solanas’s revolutionary film La hora de los hornos (Hour of the Furnaces, 1968), which exhorted the Argentinian people to revolt against the Onganía regime.
—Daniel R. Quiles, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
On her deathbed, Mary exhorts her son to take advantage of this situation in grotesquely self-serving terms at odds with the movie’s overall soak-the-rich ethos.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for exhort
Steven Mihailovich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Coaches exhorted George to keep shooting — and so did Poole.
—Josh Robbins, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
The sans-serif typeface closely resembles that of the intertitles seen in Octavio Getino and Fernando Solanas’s revolutionary film La hora de los hornos (Hour of the Furnaces, 1968), which exhorted the Argentinian people to revolt against the Onganía regime.
—Daniel R. Quiles, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
On her deathbed, Mary exhorts her son to take advantage of this situation in grotesquely self-serving terms at odds with the movie’s overall soak-the-rich ethos.
—Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 27 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for exhort
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exhort
Verb
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The man wouldn’t put his arm behind his back, prompting witnesses on the other side of the glass doors watching the arrest to urge him to comply.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
15 Apr. 2026
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Speaking at the Presidential Palance in Yaoundé in front of the country’s President, Paul Biya, Leo urged authorities to avoid corrupt practices.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Fans are encouraged to line up on South University Drive outside the President's House, west to the Student Union, and south down State Street to Yost Ice Arena.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
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The Live Local Act, a state law passed in 2023 to encourage developers to build more affordable housing, is the key driving the redesign of the faded mall that gained new owners in September 2025.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exhort.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exhort. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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