DEFINITION
verb
1. to call for forcibly or urgently and obtain;
2. to call for as necessary or desirable.
EXAMPLES
1. Although Jenny eventually succeeded, working full-time while taking a full college course load exacted a high toll from her.
2. “Bullied in five straight meetings, by an average of 13.2 points, the Jets on Sunday exacted a measure of revenge that extended beyond the outcome. Aside from outplaying the Patriots, they outsmarted them.” — From an article by Ben Shpigel in the New York Times, October 21, 2013.
DID YOU KNOW?
“Exact” derives from a form of the Latin verb “exigere,” meaning “to drive out, to demand, or to measure.” (Another descendant of “exigere” is the word “exigent,” which can mean “demanding” or “requiring immediate attention.”) “Exigere,” in turn, was formed by combining the prefix “ex-” with the verb “agere,” meaning “to drive.” “Agere” has been a very prolific source of words for English speakers; it is the ancestor of “agent,” “react,” “mitigate,” and “navigate,” just to name a few. Incidentally, if you are looking for a synonym of the verb “exact,” you could try “demand,” “call for,” “claim,” or “require.”
