exacting
Americanadjective
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rigid or severe in demands or requirements.
an exacting teacher.
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requiring close application or attention.
an exacting task.
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given to or characterized by exaction; extortionate.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of exacting
Explanation
Use the adjective exacting to describe something or someone very precise or strict in its requirements. If your teacher has exacting standards about spelling and punctuation, you better carefully check your final paper. An exacting person expects things to be, well, exact. For this reason, demanding is a good synonym. Friends who are exacting might let you have it if you show up a minute or two late. Some exacting people are extremely selective about what they eat, rejecting anything that doesn't meet their complicated standards of nutrition and taste.
Vocabulary lists containing exacting
Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "E" and "F"
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Letters to a Young Poet
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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.
"This action supports the welfare of American children by exacting real consequences for child support delinquency under existing federal law," the department said in a statement.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
In other words, Congress acted in a historically unique and exacting way in telling judges how they were supposed to decide redistricting challenges.
From Slate • May 5, 2026
To his exacting teen and preteen audience, “the Danish person,” as they disobligingly christen him, looks like the houseguest from hell.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
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
There were application forms, twenty pages long, and thick, densely printed admission handbooks from Edinburgh and London whose methodical, exacting prose seemed to be a foretaste of a new kind of academic rigor.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
