Related Words
See effort.
Other Word Forms
- nonexertion noun
- self-exertion noun
- superexertion noun
Etymology
Origin of exertion
Explanation
Exertion is effort. Exercise requires physical exertion. Listening to great jazz requires mental exertion. What kind of exertion does jazzercise require? Perhaps too much. Ex– means out. Exertion means energy is coming out — so much so that when you’re done, you may feel exhausted. The opposite of ex- is in-, as in inertia — something you need exertion to overcome.
Vocabulary lists containing exertion
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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.
Between the travel and the exertion, I was incredibly fatigued.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026
"My body has lost the ability to recover from exertion," he says.
From BBC • Feb. 1, 2026
The trackers can help monitor physical exertion, stress levels and heart rate.
From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026
By changing the information traveling from the muscles to the brain, vibration appears to reshape how movement and exertion are perceived.
From Science Daily • Jan. 8, 2026
Her hair was cropped short, her face red with exertion.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
