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exertion

noun

Simple meaning

Use of physical or mental energy.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihgzurshuhn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪɡˈzɝʃən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. Use of physical or mental energy; hard work

  2. An expenditure of physical or mental effort.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient
Frequency
Uncommon
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

This meaning: Use of physical or mental energy; hard work

Used this way, exertion is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It quietly approves while staying precise.

Emotional tone
Positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Gentle
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Determined and hard-working
Usage feel
Precise and approving

Nearby words

  • elbow grease , rarer, so it draws attention

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

physical exertiongreat exertionmental exertionmuscular exertion

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • physical exertionnounCompound term

    The activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: use of physical or mental energy

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.