1
: tryingly or unremittingly severe in making demands
2
: requiring careful attention and precision
Synonyms
Choose the Right Synonym for exacting
the onerous task of cleaning up the mess
burdensome suggests causing mental as well as physical strain.
burdensome responsibilities
oppressive implies extreme harshness or severity in what is imposed.
the oppressive tyranny of a police state
exacting implies rigor or sternness rather than tyranny or injustice in the demands made or in the one demanding.
Example Sentences
He has very exacting standards.
he was shocked when his normally exacting supervisor complimented him on a job well done
Recent Examples on the Web
That’s not to say that The Hangar’s assemblage of automobiles will be any less remarkable than at The Bridge, as the criteria for acceptance is no less exacting and, well, subjective.
—
Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 2 Mar. 2023
The physicists are now waiting to confirm the result at the more exacting (and standard in particle physics) 5-sigma level, which would mean the probability described above would be roughly 1 in two million.
—Amir Aczel, Discover Magazine, 25 June 2014
But just as many of them are never heard from again when their formulas, branding, and marketing fall short of some very exacting expectations.
—Valerie Zhang, Vogue, 20 Jan. 2023
The Netherlands, in theory, presented a far more exacting challenge; the reality, in those first 75 minutes or so, was quite the opposite.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2022
Why did this very exacting experiment find signs of neutrinos appearing to travel faster than light?
—Amir Aczel, Discover Magazine, 3 Oct. 2011
Even the most exacting of Peak TV’s auteurs—David Chase (creator of The Sopranos), Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad ), Matthew Weiner (Mad Men)—didn’t insist on writing every episode themselves.
—Sridhar Pappu, The Atlantic, 10 Nov. 2022
Both old- and new-school, Dombrowski is smart, exacting, aggressive, decisive and experienced.
—David Waldstein, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2022
The high-school punk rejects the culture of the mainstream only to embrace a subculture with norms no less exacting; how different a goth looks from everyone else, and yet how similar to every other goth.
—Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘exacting.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
from present participle of exact entry 1
First Known Use
1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of exacting was
in 1634
Dictionary Entries Near exacting
Cite this Entry
“Exacting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exacting. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
ex·act·ing
(ĭg-zăk′tĭng)
adj.
1. Making severe demands; rigorous: an exacting instructor.
2. Requiring great care, effort, or attention: an exacting task.
ex·act′ing·ly adv.
ex·act′ing·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
exacting
(ɪɡˈzæktɪŋ)
adj
making rigorous or excessive demands: an exacting job.
exˈactingly adv
exˈactingness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ex•act•ing
(ɪgˈzæk tɪŋ)
adj.
1. rigid or severe in demands or requirements: an exacting teacher.
2. requiring close application or attention: an exacting task.
3. given to or characterized by exaction; extortionate.
[1575–85]
ex•act′ing•ly, adv.
ex•act′ing•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Adj. | 1. | exacting — having complicated nutritional requirements; especially growing only in special artificial cultures; «fastidious microorganisms»; «certain highly specialized xerophytes are extremely exacting in their requirements»
microbiology — the branch of biology that studies microorganisms and their effects on humans |
| 2. | exacting — severe and unremitting in making demands; «an exacting instructor»; «a stern disciplinarian»; «strict standards»
demanding — requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill; «found the job very demanding»; «a baby can be so demanding» |
|
| 3. | exacting — requiring precise accuracy; «an exacting job»; «became more exigent over his pronunciation»
demanding — requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill; «found the job very demanding»; «a baby can be so demanding» |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
exacting
adjective
1. demanding, hard, taxing, difficult, tough, painstaking He was not well enough to carry out such an exacting task.
demanding easy, simple, effortless, undemanding, no bother, easy-peasy (slang)
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
exacting
adjective
1. Rigorous and unsparing in treating others:
2. Very difficult to please:
choosy, dainty, fastidious, finical, finicky, fussy, meticulous, nice, particular, persnickety, squeamish.
3. Requiring great or extreme bodily, mental, or spiritual strength:
arduous, backbreaking, burdensome, demanding, difficult, effortful, exigent, formidable, hard, heavy, laborious, onerous, oppressive, rigorous, rough, severe, taxing, tough, trying, weighty.
The American Heritage® Roget’s Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
مُتَطَلِّب، صارِم
krævende
sokat követelõ
kröfuharîur
Collins Spanish Dictionary — Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
exacting
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
exacting
[ɪgˈzæktɪŋ] adj (task, profession, work) → impegnativo/a; (person) → esigente
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
exact
(igˈzӕkt) adjective
1. absolutely accurate or correct in every detail; the same in every detail; precise. What are the exact measurements of the room?; For this recipe the quantities must be absolutely exact; an exact copy; What is the exact time?; He walked in at that exact moment.
2. (of a person, his mind etc) capable of being accurate over small details. Accountants have to be very exact.
verb
to force the payment of or giving of. We should exact fines from everyone who drops litter on the streets.
exˈacting adjective
requiring much effort or work from a person. a very exacting job.
exˈactly adverb
1. just; quite; absolutely. He’s exactly the right man for the job.
2. in accurate detail; precisely. Work out the prices exactly; What exactly did you say?
3. used as a reply meaning `I quite agree’.
exˈactness noun
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
exact + -ing
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /ɪɡˈzæktɪŋ/
-
Audio (southern England) (file) - Rhymes: -æktɪŋ
- Hyphenation: ex‧act‧ing
Adjective[edit]
exacting (comparative more exacting, superlative most exacting)
- Making great demands; difficult to satisfy.
-
1874, Edward Payson Roe, chapter 4, in Opening a Chestnut Burr:
-
His exacting taste required no small degree of outward perfection.
-
-
1895, Arthur Conan Doyle, chapter 7, in The Stark Munro Letters:
-
[H]e burst into apologies which would have satisfied a more exacting man than I am.
-
-
- (of an action, task, etc) Requiring precise accuracy, great care, effort, or attention.
-
December 15 2022, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian[1]:
-
Even if a GDF receives its first deposit in the 2040s, the waste has to be delivered and put away with such exacting caution that it can be filled and closed only by the middle of the 22nd century.
-
-
1897, Bram Stoker, chapter 3, in The Man:
-
Wolf’s work, which, though not very exacting, had to be done single-handed, kept him to his post.
-
-
- (of a person or organization) Characterized by exaction.
-
1850, T. S. Arthur, chapter 2, in All’s For the Best:
-
«He is a hard, exacting, money-loving man,» was my remark.
-
-
Synonyms[edit]
- (difficult to satisfy): demanding
- (requiring precise accuracy, effort, care, or attention): demanding, niggly, pernickety
- (characterized by exaction): acquisitive, extortionate, grasping, money-grubbing, rapacious
Translations[edit]
making great demands; difficult to satisfy
- Armenian: please add this translation if you can
- Belarusian: патрабавальны (patrabavalʹny)
- Bulgarian: взискателен (bg) (vziskatelen), придирчив (bg) (pridirčiv)
- Catalan: exigent (ca)
- Dutch: veeleisend (nl)
- Finnish: tiukka (fi), vaativa (fi), vaatelias (fi)
- French: exigeant (fr)
- German: anspruchsvoll (de), wählerisch (de), kleinlich (de)
- Portuguese: exigente (pt)
- Russian: тре́бовательный (ru) (trébovatelʹnyj)
- Spanish: exigente (es)
- Swedish: krävande (sv), fordrande (sv)
- Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can
Verb[edit]
exacting
- present participle and gerund of exact
Derived terms[edit]
- exactingly
- exactingness
See also[edit]
- Thesaurus:fastidious
- Thesaurus:meticulous
требовательный, взыскательный, суровый, напряженный, придирчивый, изнуряющий
прилагательное ↓
- требовательный, взыскательный; строгий
- настоятельный (о требовании)
to be exacting about cleanliness — настоятельно добиваться чистоплотности 
- трудный, обременительный, изнурительный
the exacting life of the seaman — суровая /трудная/ жизнь моряка
Мои примеры
Словосочетания
exacting teacher — требовательный учитель
exacting requirements — строгие требования
exacting terms — обременительные условия платежа
exacting task — трудная задача
be exacting — быть требовательным
exacting terms of payment — обременительные условия платежа
exacting buyer — требовательный покупатель
exacting client — требовательный клиент
exacting confession — вынуждающий признание
exacting specification — точно сформулированное требование
Примеры с переводом
She was an exacting woman to work for.
Начальницей она была очень требовательной.
He could never live up to his father’s exacting standards.
Он так и не смог соответствовать строгим требованиям своего отца.
Примеры, ожидающие перевода
He has very exacting standards. 
…he was shocked when his normally exacting supervisor complimented him on a job well done…
Для того чтобы добавить вариант перевода, кликните по иконке ☰, напротив примера.
Возможные однокоренные слова
exact — точный, строгий, аккуратный, взыскать, взыскивать, вымогать
exaction — вымогательство, домогательство, настоятельное требование, чрезмерный налог
exactly — точно, именно, ровно, как раз, точь-в-точь, совершенно верно
exactness — точность, аккуратность, тщательность
unexacting — нетребовательный, некритический, невзыскательный
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Social thinking requires very exacting thresholds to be powerful. For example, we’ve had social thinking for 200,000 years, and hardly anything happened that could be considered progress over most of that time. This is because what is most pervasive about social thinking is ‘how to get along and mutually cope.’
Alan Kay
PRONUNCIATION OF EXACTING
GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF EXACTING
Exacting is an adjective.
The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.
WHAT DOES EXACTING MEAN IN ENGLISH?
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offense of obtaining money, property, or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime groups. The actual obtainment of money or property is not required to commit the offense. Making a threat of violence which refers to a requirement of a payment of money or property to halt future violence is sufficient to commit the offense. Exaction refers not only to extortion or the unlawful demanding and obtaining of something through force, but additionally, in its formal definition, means the infliction of something such as pain and suffering or making somebody endure something unpleasant. Extortion is distinguished from robbery. In robbery, whether armed or not, the offender takes property from the victim by the immediate use of force or fear that force will be immediately used Extortion, which is not limited to the taking of property, involves the verbal or written instillation of fear that something will happen to the victim if they do not comply with the extortionist’s will.
Definition of exacting in the English dictionary
The definition of exacting in the dictionary is making rigorous or excessive demands.
WORDS THAT RHYME WITH EXACTING
Synonyms and antonyms of exacting in the English dictionary of synonyms
SYNONYMS OF «EXACTING»
The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «exacting» and belong to the same grammatical category.
Translation of «exacting» into 25 languages
TRANSLATION OF EXACTING
Find out the translation of exacting to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of exacting from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «exacting» in English.
Translator English — Chinese
费劲的
1,325 millions of speakers
Translator English — Spanish
exigente
570 millions of speakers
English
exacting
510 millions of speakers
Translator English — Hindi
मांग
380 millions of speakers
Translator English — Arabic
الصارمة
280 millions of speakers
Translator English — Russian
требователен
278 millions of speakers
Translator English — Portuguese
exigente
270 millions of speakers
Translator English — Bengali
রূক্ষ
260 millions of speakers
Translator English — French
exigeant
220 millions of speakers
Translator English — Malay
Menuntut
190 millions of speakers
Translator English — German
anspruchsvoll
180 millions of speakers
Translator English — Japanese
骨の折れる
130 millions of speakers
Translator English — Korean
매우 힘든
85 millions of speakers
Translator English — Javanese
Exacting
85 millions of speakers
Translator English — Vietnamese
buộc phải
80 millions of speakers
Translator English — Tamil
நிஜ
75 millions of speakers
Translator English — Marathi
कडक
75 millions of speakers
Translator English — Turkish
zahmetli
70 millions of speakers
Translator English — Italian
esigente
65 millions of speakers
Translator English — Polish
wymagający
50 millions of speakers
Translator English — Ukrainian
вимогливий
40 millions of speakers
Translator English — Romanian
exigent
30 millions of speakers
Translator English — Greek
απαιτητικές
15 millions of speakers
Translator English — Afrikaans
veeleisende
14 millions of speakers
Translator English — Swedish
krävande
10 millions of speakers
Translator English — Norwegian
krevende
5 millions of speakers
Trends of use of exacting
TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «EXACTING»
The term «exacting» is quite widely used and occupies the 38.296 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «exacting» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of exacting
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «exacting».
FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «EXACTING» OVER TIME
The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «exacting» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «exacting» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.
Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about exacting
5 QUOTES WITH «EXACTING»
Famous quotes and sentences with the word exacting.
Buckwheat may be planted later than any similar crop, and often does well on old meadows or waste land that can be broken after the more exacting crops are planted.
Jackie Gleason said that comedy is the most exacting form of dramatic art, because it has an instant critic: laughter.
Social thinking requires very exacting thresholds to be powerful. For example, we’ve had social thinking for 200,000 years, and hardly anything happened that could be considered progress over most of that time. This is because what is most pervasive about social thinking is ‘how to get along and mutually cope.’
No man shall be more exacting of me or my conduct than I am of myself.
I do believe that the United Nations needs to have more exacting, more enhanced professional standards for the military peacekeepers that are deployed.
10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «EXACTING»
Discover the use of exacting in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to exacting and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
What makes her turn her back on a brilliant artistic career? An Exacting Heart reveals the complex and contradictory nature of Hephzibah Menuhin: warm-hearted, humorous, astute, generous, occasionally ruthless and wrong-headed.
2
Exacting beauty [electronic resource]: theory, assessment, …
The book will be a valuable resource for even the most established researchers in the field, as it is filled with data, information about assessment tools, and a thorough treatment of virtually all major theoretical perspectives on the …
3
The Strength of an Exacting Passion: A Study of Acts 18:18-28:31
This Bible study guide takes the learner through Chapters 18-28 of the Book of Acts where the Apostle Paul turns his face toward Rome, determined, despite impossible obstacles, to carry the Gospel to the seat of the Empire.
Charles R. Swindoll, 1992
4
Business Ethics 2009 Update: Ethical Decision Making and Cases
A Framework of Organizational Culture Typologies High Caring Integrative
FIGURE 7–2 Concern for People Low Apathetic Exacting Low High Concern for
Performance SOURCE: From Gaining Control of the Corporate Culture, by N. K.
Sethia …
O. C. Ferrell, John Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2009
5
Metaphysical Encounters of a Fourth Kind: An Exacting Science
You will be truly astounded and enlightened. Endorsements «Dr. Audrey Craft Davis is one of those rare people who can present a complex subject simply and clearly. As an introduction to metaphysics this book is first-rate. — Rev.
6
Textbook of Complete Dentures
Dr. House has classified complete denture patients into four mental attitude
categories — philosophical, exacting, indifferent, and hysterical. The
philosophical patient exhibits an attitude that is optimistic, cooperative, rational,
and sensible.
Arthur O. Rahn, John R. Ivanhoe, Kevin D. Plummer, 2009
7
Tools for Life Or in the Creation of Your Best Life
What we must all gather within all of this exacting or reacting within here then is
really take a good and hard look within all of this here exacting process here then
, because you, in this, are in this going to be questioned up and down, right side …
8
Computer Science Logic: 24th International Workshop, CSL …
Two exacting algorithms P and Q are behaviorally equivalent if they operate over
the same states, have the same initial states, the same state transitions, and
explore the same terms at every state. By Corollary 1, for all states X, we have
also …
Anuj Dawar, Helmut Veith, 2010
9
Dissent, Injustice, and the Meanings of America
We must therefore subject the State’s asserted interest in preserving the special
symbolic character of the flag to ‘the most exacting scrutiny.’ ”20 But we must now
confront the shell game of First Amendment doctrine. The rule in those cases …
10
Functional Behavior Assessments in Public Schools: Exacting …
These works are packaged and produced by BiblioLabs under license by ProQuest UMI.
10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «EXACTING»
Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term exacting is used in the context of the following news items.
Karen Danczuk gets a dressing-down on how to be an MP’s wife
… on Karen Danczuk, estranged missus of Rochdale MP Simon, and the result may be judged cogent even by Christine’s exacting standards. «The Guardian, Jul 15»
‘Vigilante avenger’ jailed for vicious birthday party attack that ended …
… hand out an immediate custodial sentence. He said: «You were exacting vicious vigilante vengeance on Jake Thomas for what he had done. «Mirror.co.uk, Jul 15»
Tax them and they will grow
… in which their subsidiaries in tax havens buy goods cheaply from arms in more exacting countries, and then sell them on at a higher price, … «The Economist, Jul 15»
Fish oil pills: Why the fabulously popular supplement may not be so …
… claims that one food or another has a particular health effect persist long after they have been contradicted by more exacting research. «The Independent, Jul 15»
India, US sign FATCA; pact to help detect and discourage offshore …
… meet the exacting requirements of these regulations,» said Himanish Chaudhuri, partner-governance, risk and compliance at KPMG in India. «Economic Times, Jul 15»
‘Ant-Man’: Film Review
… rewarded with both the tight-fitting suit and the attention of Dr. Pym, who has plans for the young man that include exacting revenge on Cross, … «Hollywood Reporter, Jul 15»
This Freelance Barista From France Is One Of The World’s Best
… routines, in reference to the balance routines strike in sharing both ideas and beverages, all set to music and exacting in their timing. This apt … «Sprudge, Jul 15»
Factor31 3D Prints Futurist Cyborg Vision
Only after all of that, a set of operations that required 10 days to complete, was the model ready to live up to Factor31’s exacting standards and … «3DPrint.com, Jul 15»
Serena Williams sweeps aside Maria Sharapova
Williams has been exacting joyful revenge ever since, it seems. Williams could afford to be gracious afterwards when asked why she thinks she … «Scotsman, Jul 15»
Museum & Gallery Listings for July 10-16
… timelessness, presents 16 of his 17 river paintings known to exist, among nearly all the exacting studies of men at rest that preceded them. «New York Times, Jul 15»
REFERENCE
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Crossword clues for exacting
exacting
- Demanding old flame once treading the boards
- Demanding old partner putting on a performance
- Tough no longer playing
- Physically demanding
- With no margin for error
- Unreasonable in making demands
- Requiring precision
- Strict
- Very demanding former partner playing a role
- Making rigorous demands
- Challenging former deputy
- Challenging dramatic performance by divorcee
- Not easily satisfied
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
exacting
adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
more
▪ The information here is necessarily internal and more exacting and precise.
▪ Were they more exacting in the eighteenth century than at any other time?
▪ Earlier versions of the scanner have passed this module, but the latest version is more exacting.
■ NOUN
standard
▪ Skill, experience and the natural beauty and resilience of wool make Tintawn famous for its exacting standards.
▪ It was, however, rescued and converted with great taste, mastery and exacting standards into the most comfortable of residences.
▪ Toyota Genuine Replacement Parts are all made to the same exacting standards as those fitted to your car from new.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Film-editing is a difficult and exacting job.
▪ Only a few applicants meet our very exacting standards.
▪ The article is based on the institute’s exacting study of wages in the health care professions.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Beethoven gives the double bassoon a very exacting part in the Choral Symphony.
▪ But what surely daunted him most was facing his most exacting critic — himself.
▪ If training and competing were exacting, they were not nearly so exacting as plantation work.
▪ It is built to meet our own stringent stringent standards and more importantly, to satisfy your own exacting demands.
▪ She felt as if she had taken an extremely exacting examination.
▪ The information here is necessarily internal and more exacting and precise.
▪ The not very exacting demands of a theology degree gave him time to make a lot of useful Anglican friends.
▪ This is a very laborious and exacting technique and, to date, it has only been used with a few plants.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Exacting
Exacting Ex*act»ing, a.
Oppressive or unreasonably severe in making demands or
requiring the exact fulfillment of obligations; harsh;
severe. «A temper so exacting.»
—T. Arnold —
Ex*act»ing*ly, adv. — Ex*act»ing*ness, n.
Exacting
Exact Ex*act», v. t. [imp. & p. p. Exacted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Exacting.] [From L. exactus, p. p. of exigere; or fr. LL.
exactare: cf. OF. exacter. See Exact,
-
]
To demand or require authoritatively or peremptorily, as a
right; to enforce the payment of, or a yielding of; to compel
to yield or to furnish; hence, to wrest, as a fee or reward
when none is due; — followed by from or of before the one
subjected to exaction; as, to exact tribute, fees, obedience,
etc., from or of some one.He said into them, Exact no more than that which is
appointed you.
—Luke. iii.
13.Years of servise past
From grateful souls exact reward at last
—Dryden.My designs
Exact me in another place.
—Massinger.
Douglas Harper’s Etymology Dictionary
exacting
«very demanding, severe in requirement,» 1580s, present participle adjective from exact (v.).
Wiktionary
exacting
-
1 Making excessive demands; hard to satisfy. 2 Requiring precise accuracy v
-
(present participle of exact English)
WordNet
exacting
-
adj. having complicated nutritional requirements; especially growing only in special artificial cultures; «fastidious microorganisms»; «certain highly specialized xerophytes are extremely exacting in their requirements» [syn: fastidious] [ant: unfastidious]
-
severe and unremitting in making demands; «an exacting instructor»; «a stern disciplinarian»; «strict standards» [syn: stern, strict]
-
requiring precise accuracy; «an exacting job»; «became more exigent over his pronunciation» [syn: exigent]
Usage examples of «exacting».
As Hillela had adapted her subject to the kind of expectations she sensed available in the alumnae, so she moved on to more exacting forums around the Eastern Seaboard, the Middle West and even California.
But though uttered by a Roman cardinal, even such an expression can hardly be termed violent when applied to the synod which established free elections to bishoprics, suppressed the right of bestowing the pallium, of exacting annates and payments to the papal chancery, and which was endeavouring to restore the papacy to evangelical poverty.
Perhaps you have even guessed that my name is indeed Ali Baba, and, especially you noisy lot in the back, perhaps you forget that I once was one of the most talented of woodcutters, and have retained a facility for the exacting use of exceedingly sharp instruments.
Pe Ell and Walker Boh glaring at each other from opposite corners of the hut — harsh, dark wraiths come from exacting worlds, their silent looks full of warning.
Would she, Rue, succeed in the exacting eyes of the great Brule Hatterick?
I was burning, but I was trying to master my impatience, for I did not think that I had yet the right to be exacting.
Perhaps a policeman had been killed up in one of the favelas, and they were exacting revenge.
After that initiation, which continued for several months, I was moved to the less physically demanding but more exacting work of learning to cut, turn and smooth the wood for the spokes and felloes of the wheels.
Isadora had been furious when she was told, and it had taken both of the more serene Fyne sisters to keep her from tracking down Kane and exacting her own style of revenge.
Each impactor and each launch had to meet exacting specification and schedule constraints to make the implosion as symmetrical as physics would allow, or the biggest fiasco in human history would result.
Establishing and making public the truth of the recent pastattributing responsibility to state officials for specific acts and in some cases exacting retribution-appears here as the ineluctable precondition for any democratic future.
He saw the Lawgiver crash to the ground, and in seconds the longhorn loomed above the man responsible for its capture, slashing repeatedly with its horns as if it was exacting revenge for its torment.
A liberated sigil retains its efficacy, without exacting the former pain-price.
And like noxious weeds they grew up sturdily, becoming bolder and bolder each day, exacting a bigger and bigger ransom from the fools who toiled and moiled, ever extending their thefts and marching along the road to murder.
I was a remorseless extra-biller, and it seemed to me that the more exacting I was, the more eager my aporetics and dismal sufferers were to reward me for my attentions.
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[ ig-zak-ting ]
/ ɪgˈzæk tɪŋ /
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adjective
rigid or severe in demands or requirements: an exacting teacher.
requiring close application or attention: an exacting task.
given to or characterized by exaction; extortionate.
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Origin of exacting
First recorded in 1575–85; exact + -ing2
OTHER WORDS FROM exacting
ex·act·ing·ly, adverbex·act·ing·ness, nounnon·ex·act·ing, adjectivenon·ex·act·ing·ly, adverb
non·ex·act·ing·ness, nouno·ver·ex·act·ing, adjectivesu·per·ex·act·ing, adjectiveun·ex·act·ing, adjective
Words nearby exacting
exacerbate, exacerbated, exact, exacta, exact differential, exacting, exaction, exactitude, exactly, exact science, exacum
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Words related to exacting
harsh, imperious, onerous, painstaking, precise, rigid, rigorous, strict, stringent, taxing, trying, burdensome, by the book, careful, critical, difficult, exigent, finicky, fussy, grievous
How to use exacting in a sentence
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Both the IRA and the British military are portrayed here with an exacting lack of sentimentality.
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The pair, who are exhibiting together in Fred Schnider Gallery’s “Material Reality,” make elaborate, exacting assemblages.
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She offers to teach Teichner the exacting steps involved in the time-consuming preparation for administering the meds.
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Viewed through the exacting lens of an engineer, Beckwith was struck by agriculture’s inefficiencies.
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He was known to be a tough and exacting boss who regularly and relentlessly drilled his analysts to prepare them for client meetings.
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Qualification is exacting, and a majority of the teams that do qualify are from the West.
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Brazier was feared for her ferocious tempers and respected for her exacting standards.
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Munro is a great writer; a wise writer; a free and brave, exacting, transformative, generous, and profoundly discreet writer.
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But exacting concessions from the mediator is not the point.
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But legal justice, no less moral or exacting, is something else.
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He knew his control was not equal to the task; he would betray himself; the rôle was too exacting.
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Mr. Carr, who had his eyes on the exacting baby, shook his head, and intimated that he was really unable to understand her.
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Marriage, and later the birth of his son had softened Armand Aubigny’s imperious and exacting nature greatly.
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At the end of the concerto the applause was generous enough to satisfy the most exacting virtuoso.
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As they get accustomed to her, they want to rule her, and the more one gives them the more exacting they become.
British Dictionary definitions for exacting
adjective
making rigorous or excessive demandsan exacting job
Derived forms of exacting
exactingly, adverbexactingness, noun
Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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exacting
adj making rigorous or excessive demands
an exacting job
♦
exactingly adv
♦
exactingness n
English Collins Dictionary — English Definition & Thesaurus 
exacting
demanding, difficult, hard, harsh, imperious, oppressive, painstaking, rigid, rigorous, severe, stern, strict, stringent, taxing, tough, unsparing
Antonyms
easy, easy-peasy (slang) effortless, no bother, simple, undemanding
English Collins Dictionary — English synonyms & Thesaurus
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