exercises 1 of 2

noun

plural of exercise
1
as in practices
something done over and over in order to develop skill a young piano student dutifully going through the standard finger exercises

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Relevance
2
as in uses
the act or practice of employing something for a particular purpose the observation that the best exercise for losing weight is the exercise of one's ability to say no to food

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

exercises

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of exercise
1
as in exerts
to bring to bear especially forcefully or effectively a senator who consistently exercises his clout in Congress to get pork barrel projects for his state

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2
as in drills
to do over and over so as to become skilled the only way to exercise your writing skills is to do more writing

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3
as in applies
to put into action or service commended the firefighters for exercising really good judgment in that emergency

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in alarms
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy the slightest change in travel plans is enough to get him all exercised

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of exercises
Noun
The exercises are designed to help Davis’ first responders improve coordination and cooperation during critical incidents. — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 31 July 2026 Rogers previously served in a space aggressors unit in the US Air Force, taking up against US space operators in war game and military exercises. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 30 July 2026 Since your front leg does most of the work, lunges can place more demand on your quads than bilateral exercises like squats, said Hribick. — Julia Ries Wexler, Health, 29 July 2026 This lets teams collect performance data during real exercises instead of waiting for longer test campaigns. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 29 July 2026 The Navy integrated the 16-foot USV into Baltic Sea exercises last June. — Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 The Olympic gymnast, 29, headlined day two of the Faces of Fitness festival in Chicago on Sunday, July 26, delivering a presentation on mental health and leading attendees in calming breathing exercises. — Ashlyn Robinette, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026 India and China have also separately conducted anti-piracy drills, naval patrols, and maritime exercises with partner countries in the Indian Ocean. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 July 2026 Care typically includes manual therapy, posture retraining and specialized exercises aimed at long-term relief and preventing further strain, according to Northeast Spine and Sports Medicine. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 22 July 2026
Verb
By contrast, Congress appropriates much of the public-private institution’s funding and exercises oversight over the institution, which is governed by a board of regents. — Kelsey Ables, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026 Lamine Yamal also complained about the readaptation exercises he was given after suffering a groin injury, but the situation blew up when Raphinha suffered multiple setbacks from a hamstring injury in October. — Pol Ballús, New York Times, 10 July 2026 In China, the central government exercises extensive oversight of universities and can steer academic priorities through national policy and funding decisions. — Anna Esaki-Smith, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026 Public power, meaning the authority government exercises on behalf of the people, does not originate with the president. — Stephanie A, The Conversation, 22 June 2026 Zellweger gained nearly 20 pounds to play the character, who drinks often and exercises intermittently. — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 13 June 2026 But Collins, who's been in the upper chamber since 1997 and exercises significant power as chair of the Appropriations Committee, has fended off a number of challenges from Democrats in previous cycles, including in 2020 when Joe Biden won the state. — Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 9 June 2026 If LaVine exercises his $49 million player option for next season, the Kings are projected to have a team payroll of about $225 million, which would put them well over the NBA’s luxury tax threshold of $201 million and above the second apron of $222 million. — Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 2 June 2026 The vessel is expected to participate in the upcoming Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercises off the coast of Hawaii later this year. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 28 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exercises
  1. practices
  2. uses
  3. exerts
  4. applies
  5. alarms
  6. lessons
  7. applications
  8. utilizes
Noun
  • Joint practices More teams choose to use practices against other opponents to prepare their quarterbacks and key starters for the regular season instead of preseason games.
    — Rob Maaddi, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2026
  • Although the advisory Guidelines technically recommended life imprisonment, actual federal sentencing practices painted a dramatically different picture.
    — Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026
Definition of practices
Noun
  • The Dirties includes a scene where Johnson’s out-of-touch high-school character is in blackface, while the Nirvanna web series has bits that carelessly chase juvenile provocation, including stray uses of racial accents and slurs.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 2026
  • State laws now require police departments to release more information about officer misconduct and cases that involve serious uses of force.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026
Definition of uses
Verb
  • But even as Vancouver has begun the painful process of revising its harm-reduction policies, the city still exerts a powerful hold on the imagination of liberal leaders in the United States.
    — Michael Powell, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
  • The entire operating system of a company exerts a gravitational pull toward the here and now.
    — Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of exerts
Verb
  • The measure applies to residential properties valued at more than $1 million, depending on the type of property, that are not the owner’s primary residence.
    — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 29 July 2026
  • The same discipline applies one level up, to the model providers themselves.
    — Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Definition of applies
Verb
  • That prospect alarms those in Europe, who fear FIFA could increasingly challenge their competitions for space on an already overcrowded calendar.
    — Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • He becomes increasingly consumed by the otherworldly dimension, which alarms his therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve).
    — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 30 May 2026
Definition of alarms
Noun
  • The lessons Thomas wanted his daughters to learn now extend beyond his own family.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 26 July 2026
  • Christopher Nolan's *The Odyssey* film adaptation offers profound leadership lessons from King Odysseus's arduous journey home.
    — Dr. Samantha Madhosingh, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of lessons
Noun
  • New applications for unemployment benefits, for example, continued to hover at historically low levels last week, according to a separate report from the Labor Department.
    — Bryan Mena, CNN Money, 30 July 2026
  • In applications like video calls, Xittel and Starlink’s round-trip signal delays became painfully obvious.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026
Definition of applications
Verb
  • While Nike uses a unified CDP to connect a multi-app athletic ecosystem and physical retail, Revolve utilizes its CDP infrastructure to drive high-velocity fashion trends, personalized influencer edits and real-time behavioral merchandising.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 31 July 2026
  • Nevertheless, rather than using a physical screen on the dashboard, the LG Ultraview system utilizes a hybrid optical unit inside the dashboard to bounce light off the windshield.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 July 2026
Definition of utilizes

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exercises
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Cite this Entry

“Exercises.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exercises. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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