exhort
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exhortsimple
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exhortssimple
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have exhortedperfect
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has exhortedperfect
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am exhortingprogressive
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are exhortingprogressive
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is exhortingprogressive
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have been exhortingperfect progressive
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has been exhortingperfect progressive
Past
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exhortedsimple
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had exhortedperfect
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was exhortingprogressive
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were exhortingprogressive
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had been exhortingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exhort
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English ex(h)orte, from Latin exhortārī “to encourage greatly,” from ex- ex- 1 + hortārī “to encourage, urge”
Explanation
French roots for the word exhort mean "thoroughly encourage," so to exhort is to fill up with encouragement! "When he heard the crowd exhort him with stomping and cheers, he knew that he could finish the marathon." Some synonyms for exhort include stimulate, excite, and urge on. Words and shouts can exhort, and this is especially true when the recipient of those chants fears coming up short with an effort. Exhortations may make the difference between winning or losing and marching on or giving up. A sergeant might exhort his troops after a defeat just as a dad can exhort his daughter after a missed note during a piano recital.
Vocabulary lists containing exhort
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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The Scarlet Letter
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Exhort the possibility of a “motherhood advantage” to your friends.
From Slate • Jun. 26, 2018
Exhort, egz-hort′, or egz-ōrt′, v.t. to urge strongly to good deeds, esp. by words or advice: to animate: to advise or warn.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Exhort them to be worthy of her—to have faith in her present prosperity, in her future greatness, and to devote all their talents, when they themselves are men, to accomplish this noble object.
From Roughing It in the Bush by Moodie, Susanna
Exhort thou the servants of God unto that whereunto We have exhorted thee that they may abstain from whatsoever is forbidden them in the Mother Book.
From Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas by Bahá'u'lláh
Exhort ye one another and continue in the doctrine, which ye have received.
From The Life and Times of Ulric Zwingli by Hottinger, Johann Jakob
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
