exact

verb

ex·​act ig-ˈzakt 

exacted; exacting; exacts

transitive verb

1

: to call for forcibly or urgently and obtain

From them has been exacted the ultimate sacrifice.

—D. D. Eisenhower

2

: to call for as necessary or desirable

… a task so delicate exacts the scholar and philosopher …

—Benjamin N. Cardozo

exactable

ig-ˈzak-tə-bəl 

adjective

exactor noun

or less commonly exacter

ig-ˈzak-tər 

Did you know?

To exact something is to not only demand it, but also obtain it. The most common things exacted—revenge, retribution, and that ilk—often require physical force, but other things exacted—such as penalties and prices, promises and concessions—can be obtained with gentler forms of persuasion. The variation is present in the word’s Latin ancestor too: exigere means “to drive out; to demand; and to measure.” Do not confuse the verb exact with the more common verb extract. Extract is primarily about removing something, and need not involve a demand: a dentist extracts a tooth from (we hope) a willing patient, and extracting juice from an orange carries no connotation of insistence. Note, though, that there are cases in which either verb can be used: confessions, for example, are sometimes said to be exacted or extracted, with both typically implying significant effort by the one obtaining the confession.

Synonyms of exact

• demand
• request
• claim
• require
• command

Choose the Right Synonym for exact

demand, claim, require, exact mean to ask or call for something as due or as necessary.

demand implies peremptoriness and insistence and often the right to make requests that are to be regarded as commands.

demanded payment of the debt

claim implies a demand for the delivery or concession of something due as one's own or one's right.

claimed the right to manage his own affairs

require suggests the imperativeness that arises from inner necessity, compulsion of law or regulation, or the exigencies of the situation.

the patient requires constant attention

exact implies not only demanding but getting what one demands.

exacts absolute loyalty

Examples of exact in a Sentence

They would not rest until they had exacted revenge.

He was able to exact a promise from them.

Recent Examples on the Web

But Kyiv’s early embrace of drones, and the mass-industrialization of their accuracy and power, has begun to exact a defining toll on Moscow. —Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 30 May 2026

Throughout season 8, Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) has been watching his back, waiting for nefarious crime boss Heath Everett (Jeffrey Vincent Parise) to exact revenge after Tim rejected his bribe. —Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 28 May 2026

New York now needs exacting procedures and accountability to ensure menstrual products are reliably stocked in schools. —Gale Brewer, New York Daily News, 28 May 2026

Ibn al-Khatima also described the Black Death’s pathology—that is to say, its symptoms and progression—in exacting detail. —Literary Hub, 27 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English exacten "to require as payment," borrowed from Latin exāctus, past participle of exigere "to drive out, achieve, enforce payment of or the performance of (a task), require, inquire into, examine" from ex- ex- entry 1 + agere "to drive (cattle), be in motion, do, perform" — more at agent

First Known Use

1564, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing exact

• exact differential
• exact opposite
• exact same
• exact science
• same exact
• to be exact

Rhymes for exact

• abstract
• attacked
• attract
• contact
• contract
• detract
• distract
• enact
• extract
• hijacked
• impact
• intact

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Kids Definition

exact

1 of 2 verb

ex·​act ig-ˈzakt 

1

: to demand and get by force or threat

exact burdensome concessions

2

: to call for as necessary or desirable

exact a high price

exaction

-ˈzak-shən

noun

exact

2 of 2 adjective

1

: fully and completely in agreement with fact, a standard, or an original

the exact time

an exact rhyme

an exact replica

2

: providing great accuracy

exact instruments

exactness

-ˈzak(t)-nəs

noun