exert
- 01 C1 Advanced
to use your power, influence, or authority to achieve a result.
to bring a quality, such as influence or authority, to bear on a situation. Transitive — requires a direct object representing the force applied.
Simple“The local council began to exert pressure on the company to clean up the park.”
In context“The central bank may exert significant influence over the national economy by adjusting interest rates during periods of high inflation.”
UsageCommonly collocates with 'pressure', 'influence', 'authority', or 'control'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
to make a very big mental or physical effort to do something.
to put oneself into vigorous action or to make a strenuous effort. Reflexive — always used with a reflexive pronoun like 'himself' or 'themselves'.
Simple“She had to exert herself to finish the long race in the heat.”
In context“The researchers exerted themselves to meet the grant deadline, working through the weekend to finalise their findings.”
UsageRequires a reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, etc.) followed by a 'to' infinitive.
PitfallHe exerted to finish the project on time. He exerted himself to finish the project on time.In this sense, the verb must be reflexive; you must exert 'yourself'.
Usage exert control · exert effect · exert force
“But there are not many levers left for Trump to pull if he wants to exert more pressure on Tehran, Barbara Slavin, Distinguished Fellow at the Washington, DC-based Stimson Centre, told Al Jazeera.”
“For all his kooky control-freakery, a new manager like Maresca will never be able to exert the same stranglehold as the man he replaced .”
From Latin exsertus, past participle of exserō (“to stretch or thrust forth or out”), from ex- + serō (“to string together”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.