Make Your Point > Archived Issues > EXHORT
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pronounce
EXHORT:
Say it "egg ZORT."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
When you exhort people to take action--to vote, to donate blood, to satisfy their souls by making art, to kill Count Dooku--you're urging them to do something.
But when you _dm_n_sh people, or when you d_ss__d_ people, you're urging them not to do something.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
The word "exhort" has Latin roots that literally mean "to thoroughly urge, or to thoroughly encourage."
It's been around in English since about 1475, and that's what it still means. To exhort people to do things is to strongly encourage or strongly recommend that they do those things.
In other words, if you're exhorting someone to do something, you're talking to them or writing to them, using words to push them into doing it.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Verb, the transitive kind: "The ads exhort viewers to buy this cereal;" "The signs exhorted us to keep six feet apart."
Other forms:
Exhorted, exhorting, exhortation(s).
For an adjective, you can use either "exhortative" (pronounced "egg ZOR tuh tiv") or "exhortatory" (pronounced "egg ZOR tuh tore ee").
how to use it:
This common word is formal and serious.
To use it, talk about people, statements, signs, documents, videos and so on that exhort people, usually to do something: "The pamphlet exhorts smokers to quit;" "The website exhorts visitors to make donations;" "The professor exhorted her students to refer to the syllabus before emailing her a question."
examples:
"President Donald Trump exhorts every public school to reopen this fall or face withholding of funds."
— David Kerchner, Seattle Times, 17 July 2020
"The ability to find the good in the bad is one of humanity’s most endearing characteristics. It’s why art and literature exist. It’s why Americans constantly exhort themselves to learn from even the worst experience."
— Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2020
has this page helped you understand "exhort"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "exhort" without saying "plead" or "persuade."
try it out:
Who's the pushiest person you know?
With that person in mind, fill in the blanks: "(Someone) is always exhorting (certain people) to (do something)."
Example: "These girls we barely remember from high school are always exhorting us to buy their essential oils."
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is Everyday Etymologies!
If you're in the habit of looking up the etymologies of everyday words (wait, you aren't?), then you find, occasionally, certain ones that strike you as particularly apt, cute, strange, or poetic. I'd like to share some of those finds with you this month. In each issue, I'll give you the etymology of an everyday word, and you supply the word. We'll start easy and move into some tougher ones as the month goes on, but every answer will be an everyday kind of word, one you've been familiar with since, say, adolescence at least. To see the answer, scroll to the bottom of the issue.
Try this one today: This one-syllable verb literally means "to make whole." If you add "-th" to it, you get a noun that literally means "wholeness."
review this word:
A. CURIOUS.
B. SILENCING.
C. DISCOURAGING.
2. It was a _____, so everyone expected the usual exhortations; instead, he launched into a comedy routine.
A. job interview
B. graduation speech
C. corporate holiday party
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
When you exhort people to take action--to vote, to donate blood, to satisfy their souls by making art, to kill Count Dooku--you're urging them to do something.
The word "exhort" has Latin roots that literally mean "to thoroughly urge, or to thoroughly encourage."
Part of speech:
This common word is formal and serious.
"President Donald Trump exhorts every public school to reopen this fall or face withholding of funds."
Explain the meaning of "exhort" without saying "plead" or "persuade."
Who's the pushiest person you know?
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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