exacting
Americanadjective
-
rigid or severe in demands or requirements.
an exacting teacher.
-
requiring close application or attention.
an exacting task.
-
given to or characterized by exaction; extortionate.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- exactingly adverb
- exactingness noun
- nonexacting adjective
- nonexactingly adverb
- nonexactingness noun
- overexacting adjective
- superexacting adjective
- unexacting adjective
Etymology
Origin of exacting
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.
It's a highly anticipated journey that demands exacting precision -- but there's still room for the astronauts to live out their childhood dreams of spaceflight.
From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026
At the FBI, he gained a reputation of being an exacting taskmaster and, despite his early Republican political alignment, someone who was appreciated by politicians of both political parties.
From Barron's • Mar. 21, 2026
Guinness, owned by the beverage conglomerate Diageo, is no less exacting about other elements of service.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
Both sweet and bashful, Kikuo and Shunsuke quickly grow close, enduring Hanjiro’s exacting requirements as he shapes them to be graceful, disciplined performers.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026
He may be stern; he may be exacting; he may be ambitious yet; but his is the sternness of the warrior Greatheart, who guards his pilgrim convoy from the onslaught of Apollyon.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
