exert

[ig-zurt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR exert ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to put forth or into use, as power; exercise, as ability or influence; put into vigorous action: to exert every effort.

to put (oneself) into strenuous, vigorous action or effort.

Origin of exert

1650–60; < Latin ex(s)ertus, past participle of exserere to thrust out, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + ser(ere) to bind together + -tus past participle suffix

Related formsex·er·tive, adjectivenon·ex·er·tive, adjectivesu·per·ex·ert, verb (used with object)un·ex·ert·ed, adjectivewell-ex·ert·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for exerts

expend, wield, utilize, apply, exercise, strive, plug, use, dig, toil, work, ply, labor, employ, strain, struggle, push, endeavor, throw

Examples from the Web for exerts

Contemporary Examples of exerts

And second, well, no, sorry—violence and death are not what you inevitably get when the United States exerts its influence.
Why Liberals Should Back Iraq Intervention
Michael Tomasky
August 11, 2014
Facebook exerts an inordinate amount of control over your life.
Seven Hacks to Revolutionize Your Facebook Experience
Nina Strochlic
September 24, 2013
First of all, it exerts a new level of hegemonic control over users' experiences.
Facebook's Dilemma: Invade Privacy or Go Bust
David Frum
May 24, 2012
The articles say Miscavige exerts such influence that “managers follow his orders, however bizarre, with lemming-like obedience.”
Is Scientology's Wall Cracking?
Kim Masters
June 28, 2009

Historical Examples of exerts

For the world about us exerts a constant appeal to our senses.
The Mind and Its Education
George Herbert Betts
Now she exerts her power with an energy to which he believed her a stranger.
The Young Duke
Benjamin Disraeli
It exerts pressure, the impact of its moving units of energy—photons.
The Black Star Passes
John W Campbell
The resistance of the Gulf does not form the bars, though it exerts an influence.
Continental Monthly , Vol. 5, No. 6, June, 1864
Various
He exerts his physical powers because such exertion is necessary for his subsistence.
Popular Education
Ira Mayhew

British Dictionary definitions for exerts

exert

verb (tr)

to use (influence, authority, etc) forcefully or effectively

to apply (oneself) diligently; make a strenuous effort

Derived Formsexertion, nounexertive, adjective

Word Origin for exert

C17 (in the sense: push forth, emit): from Latin exserere to thrust out, from ex- 1 + serere to bind together, entwine

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for exerts

exert

1660s, "thrust forth, push out," from Latin exertus/exsertus, past participle of exerere/exserere "thrust out, put forth," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + serere "attach, join" (see series). Meaning "put into use" is 1680s. Related: Exerted; exerting.