as in applying
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 exerting
One climate indicator already exerting a strong influence on insurers and reinsurers is ocean conditions, particularly sea surface temperatures.
—
Bill Frist, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Independence is exerting its local authority to add some restrictions to development agreements between the city and outside agencies.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
The stringent businessman makes Marty suffer and grovel for his money, at one point exerting his power by spanking the young man’s bare bottom with a wooden ping-pong paddle.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
African leaders who are keen on exerting greater control over massive health budgets are likely to ignore the potential downsides of any agreements.
—Martin K.n Siele, semafor.com, 19 Dec. 2025
This latest lawsuit accuses Epic of exerting its power as a market leader to exclude competitors and protect its market dominance, at the expense of hospitals and patients who might otherwise benefit from competitors' innovations.
—Sarah Volpenhein, jsonline.com, 16 Dec. 2025
The solicitor general’s assertion was met with some pushback by justices who questioned how far-reaching that claim would be and whether the agencies are solely exerting executive power.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 8 Dec. 2025
The war in Ukraine should be Europeanized so that Europe can police its own region and keep Russia from exerting outsize influence beyond its borders.
—Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2025
And in today’s executive leadership landscape, that can be scary; executive turnover is at an all-time high, and activist investors have become increasingly capable at exerting change.
—David Podolsky, Fortune, 19 Nov. 2025
Bill Frist, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
Independence is exerting its local authority to add some restrictions to development agreements between the city and outside agencies.
—Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 9 Jan. 2026
The stringent businessman makes Marty suffer and grovel for his money, at one point exerting his power by spanking the young man’s bare bottom with a wooden ping-pong paddle.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 31 Dec. 2025
African leaders who are keen on exerting greater control over massive health budgets are likely to ignore the potential downsides of any agreements.
—Martin K.n Siele, semafor.com, 19 Dec. 2025
This latest lawsuit accuses Epic of exerting its power as a market leader to exclude competitors and protect its market dominance, at the expense of hospitals and patients who might otherwise benefit from competitors' innovations.
—Sarah Volpenhein, jsonline.com, 16 Dec. 2025
The solicitor general’s assertion was met with some pushback by justices who questioned how far-reaching that claim would be and whether the agencies are solely exerting executive power.
—Jack Birle, The Washington Examiner, 8 Dec. 2025
The war in Ukraine should be Europeanized so that Europe can police its own region and keep Russia from exerting outsize influence beyond its borders.
—Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2025
And in today’s executive leadership landscape, that can be scary; executive turnover is at an all-time high, and activist investors have become increasingly capable at exerting change.
—David Podolsky, Fortune, 19 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exerting
Verb
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For these reasons, applying chemical ice melts and mechanically removing ice are better solutions.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
23 Jan. 2026
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For decades, assessors across California have exercised reasonable and uniform judgment in applying it, guided by State Board of Equalization (BOE) advice, local building standards, and the factual circumstances of each rebuild.—
Jeffrey Prang,
Daily News,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Millions upon millions of people are using generative AI as their ongoing advisor on mental health considerations (note that ChatGPT alone has over 800 million weekly active users, a notable proportion of which dip into mental health aspects, see my analysis at the link here).—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
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The Skippers kept fighting, using a 7-0 run to take a 57-55 lead with two minutes to go.—
Brendan Connelly,
Boston Herald,
24 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The final shot of the trailer appears to be the Tin Man wielding an ax, though the blade of his weapon is out of frame.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Jan. 2026
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Under Maduro, Cabello has remained a central pillar of the regime, wielding power less through formal titles than through loyalty networks within the armed forces, intelligence services and ruling party.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And then a lot of the interventions that actually have the biggest impact are things that all of us can do today, like exercising, sleeping, and making the right dietary choices.—
Alexa Mikhail,
Flow Space,
27 Jan. 2026
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In the meantime, Sahakian recommends people who are experiencing menopause focus on behaviors that are known to improve brain health—exercising, sleeping well, keeping your mind active, eating healthy and maintaining a positive social network.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exerting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exerting. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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