as in applied
to bring to bear especially forcefully or effectively
parental involvement has consistently been shown to exert the most influence over a child's success in school
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Recent Examples of exerted
The European Union's top diplomat accused Russia of not taking the talks seriously, calling Thursday in Brussels for more pressure to be exerted on Moscow to press it into making concessions.
—
Aamer Madhani and Susie Blann The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 2026
The European Union’s top diplomat accused Russia of not taking the talks seriously, calling Thursday in Brussels for more pressure to be exerted on Moscow to press it into making concessions.
—Aamer Madhani, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Suzuki was best known for his investigations into the Unification Church, a Korean religious movement that had exerted significant influence in Japan since the nineteen-sixties—and that maintained direct ties with Abe and his political party.
—E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Those climaxes exerted visceral intensity, but delicacies at the threshold of audibility seemed physical presences as well.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
The most famous is Bernoulli’s principle, which states that an increase in the speed of a fluid decreases the pressure exerted by the fluid.
—Cat Rainsford, Popular Science, 15 Jan. 2026
Guardiola may have defensive injury issues, too, but the respective physical toll exerted could not be more contrasting.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Trump began his second presidential term a few days after Maduro’s inauguration and has since exerted various forms of pressure.
—Germán Padinger, CNN Money, 31 Dec. 2025
For most of the final season, Stranger Things has exerted a fair amount of effort to retcon what the series is really about.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2025
Aamer Madhani and Susie Blann The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 30 Jan. 2026
The European Union’s top diplomat accused Russia of not taking the talks seriously, calling Thursday in Brussels for more pressure to be exerted on Moscow to press it into making concessions.
—Aamer Madhani, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2026
Suzuki was best known for his investigations into the Unification Church, a Korean religious movement that had exerted significant influence in Japan since the nineteen-sixties—and that maintained direct ties with Abe and his political party.
—E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Those climaxes exerted visceral intensity, but delicacies at the threshold of audibility seemed physical presences as well.
—Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, 16 Jan. 2026
The most famous is Bernoulli’s principle, which states that an increase in the speed of a fluid decreases the pressure exerted by the fluid.
—Cat Rainsford, Popular Science, 15 Jan. 2026
Guardiola may have defensive injury issues, too, but the respective physical toll exerted could not be more contrasting.
—Chris Waugh, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Trump began his second presidential term a few days after Maduro’s inauguration and has since exerted various forms of pressure.
—Germán Padinger, CNN Money, 31 Dec. 2025
For most of the final season, Stranger Things has exerted a fair amount of effort to retcon what the series is really about.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 30 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exerted
Verb
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Whether analysts value that outcome as a $10 reduction in individual risk added up across everyone, or as a $10 million value directly applied to the life saved is mathematically identical.—
James Broughel,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Almost immediately after oversight of TikTok’s US operations changed, misinformation started to spread about changes to the app’s new terms of service, including those that applied to location sharing and data collection, Fiesler said.—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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UltraGreen holds an 85% market share in the US for its fluorescent dye used in surgical imaging, despite raising the average cost of its dye vials in the market by 60% and 30% in 2023 and 2024.—
Bernadette Toh,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
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Scared of death, many men have used it, carrying death upon their shoulders.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The chair has historically wielded a great deal of influence over the committee's decision and helped build consensus.—
Joe Walsh,
CBS News,
30 Jan. 2026
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The tools of state security are being selectively wielded against critics.—
Binaifer Nowrojee,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The city’s insurance provider, Intact, exercised its rights under its policy and settled the case on the city’s behalf, the news release said.—
Alex Brizee,
Idaho Statesman,
28 Jan. 2026
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Researchers found that adults who exercised regularly for a year showed brains that appeared nearly a year younger than those who didn’t change their habits.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exerted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exerted. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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