Word-Built World: to exact

Dictionary

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ex·act

/iɡˈzak(t)/

verb

verb: exact; 3rd person present: exacts; past tense: exacted; past participle: exacted; gerund or present participle: exacting

  1. demand and obtain (something, especially a payment) from someone.”tributes exacted from the Slavic peoples”Similar:demandrequireinsist oncommandcall forimposerequestask forexpectlook forextractcompelforcewringwrestsqueezeobtainconstrain
    • inflict (revenge) on someone.”he exacts a cruel revenge against the winning candidate”Similar:inflictimposedeliveradministerissueapply

Origin

late Middle English (as a verb): from Latin exact- ‘completed, ascertained, enforced’, from the verb exigere, from ex- ‘thoroughly’ + agere ‘perform’. The adjective dates from the mid 16th century and reflects the Latin exactus ‘precise’.

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