exacting

[ig-zak-ting] / ɪgˈzæk tɪŋ /

ADJECTIVE

demanding

Synonyms

STRONGEST

harsh imperious onerous painstaking precise rigid rigorous strict stringent

STRONG

taxing trying

WEAK

burdensome by the book careful critical difficult exigent finicky fussy grievous hard hypercritical nit-picking oppressive particular persnickety picky severe stern tough unsparing weighty

Antonyms

STRONGEST

careless easy easygoing flexible inexact lenient loose mild soft tolerant yielding

WEAK

giving lending

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Yet other, more controversial projects, exacting irreversible change to capital institutions, are facing greater opposition.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026

Former employees say Gerko is an exacting, hands-on manager.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

He was exacting, charming and merciless in equal measure.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, however, supplied the argument’s most exacting skepticism, and likely the cleanest window into which a center-right majority might land.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2026

For half a century people had been trying to work out the size of the Earth, mostly by making very exacting measurements.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Vocabulary lists containing exacting

Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation

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Letters to a Young Poet

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