Words / C2

ig-ZORT/ɪɡˈzɔːt/

Exhort means urge someone strongly (formal): exhort members to vote. Encourage is milder; order is a command. Extort is force money from someone — extra t, criminal. An exhortation is the speech. Do not exhort a kettle; the object is people, and the pattern is exhort someone to + infinitive.

Meaning

To urge someone strongly to do something (formal).

Examples

• “The chair exhorted members to vote, not abstain.”
• “The chair exhorted the room to read the annex, not the headline.”
• “Campaign leaflets exhorted voters to register before the cut-off.”

Good to know

exhort someone to + infinitive (formal urge). Milder: encourage. Mix-up: extort (extract money by threats). Noun: exhortation.

Near in meaning

urge

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