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
Industry groups, meanwhile, are quashing proposals for higher taxes or stricter regulation by exerting pressure on lawmakers and cozying up to power players in the worlds of philanthropy, medicine, and science.
—
Lev Facher, STAT, 12 May 2026
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claims that the leader is lucid and exerting total control over the country that his office commands.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 1 May 2026
For years the owner, now 66, has watched tape, done his own player evaluations and sent observations and suggestions to DeCosta, mostly about players who might be available in later rounds — without exerting any actual decision-making power.
—Michael Silver, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
By exerting more control, America becomes more like China in the very race to beat it.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
The researchers found that months after returning to Earth from space, astronauts had trouble exerting the correct amount of force to properly grip an object.
—Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 20 Apr. 2026
Completing an easy, accomplishable responsibility lets workers still feel productive without exerting too much mental effort.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
The pinafore-style dress was in a twee ditsy print and flowed well past her knees, while a leather belt sat happily on her waist without exerting effort to cinch.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
Ackman is one of the loudest hedge fund investors out there, exerting enormous influence through social media, podcasts and media interviews.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 7 Apr. 2026
Lev Facher, STAT, 12 May 2026
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claims that the leader is lucid and exerting total control over the country that his office commands.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 1 May 2026
For years the owner, now 66, has watched tape, done his own player evaluations and sent observations and suggestions to DeCosta, mostly about players who might be available in later rounds — without exerting any actual decision-making power.
—Michael Silver, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
By exerting more control, America becomes more like China in the very race to beat it.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
The researchers found that months after returning to Earth from space, astronauts had trouble exerting the correct amount of force to properly grip an object.
—Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 20 Apr. 2026
Completing an easy, accomplishable responsibility lets workers still feel productive without exerting too much mental effort.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026
The pinafore-style dress was in a twee ditsy print and flowed well past her knees, while a leather belt sat happily on her waist without exerting effort to cinch.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 9 Apr. 2026
Ackman is one of the loudest hedge fund investors out there, exerting enormous influence through social media, podcasts and media interviews.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 7 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exerting
Verb
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Some portion of eligible people are probably discouraged from applying at all, believing the lottery system to be rigged or pointless.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
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And if the cabinet grandfathers only the HS classes of 2024 and 2025 while applying the new rule to 2026 graduates, an entire cohort gets jammed onto the same clock as players one and two years older—a cliff disguised as a transition.—
Daryl G. Jones,
Sportico.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The rooms Judy likes to give each hotel a personality, but using Poldark as inspiration wouldn’t be nearly quirky enough for the Hutsons.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
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The stores will be roughly 20,000 square feet and exclusively accessible to gig workers using the retailer’s Spark delivery driver app to collect orders and bring them to customers.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
15 May 2026
Verb
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No ruler-wielding schoolmarm can impart the urgency of learning the way hunger can.—
John Phillips,
Outdoor Life,
14 May 2026
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City officials, when wielding that exemption, must determine if the public interest in keeping documents secret outweighs the public interest in disclosing documents, First Amendment Coalition Executive Director David Snyder said.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Elevated ozone levels can cause problems for people with cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease (like asthma), the elderly, and people exercising outdoors, the commissioners said.—
Matthew Villafane,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
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The phrase had been coined a year earlier by students frustrated that Stanford was exercising ever more control over their lives.—
Theo Baker,
Vanity Fair,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exerting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exerting. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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