exercised

verb

past tense of exercise
1
as in exerted
to bring to bear especially forcefully or effectively a senator who consistently exercises his clout in Congress to get pork barrel projects for his state

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2
as in practiced
to do over and over so as to become skilled the only way to exercise your writing skills is to do more writing

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3
as in used
to put into action or service commended the firefighters for exercising really good judgment in that emergency

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in bothered
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy the slightest change in travel plans is enough to get him all exercised

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of exercised Fauci exercised his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination more than 100 times, rather than answer questions about his role in the government’s pandemic response. — John C. Besley, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026 Protecting a protocol today means securing not just its code, but also who can control it, how that control is exercised, and the infrastructure and people behind it. — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026 Hertz, who argued the sheriff’s case after Riverside’s county counsel largely sided with the plaintiffs, said Bianco simply exercised his legal discretion. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026 Shipping data suggests that more crude oil is leaving the Gulf via a southern route close to the coast with Oman, a threat to the leverage Iran has exercised in recent months. — Tim Lister, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2026 The crux of the dispute surrounds the validity of a contract extension option for Mateta, one which Palace exercised in December 2024. — Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026 Johnson exercised the car during his ownership, competing at the 2011 Coronado Speed Festival in San Diego, and the 2012 Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca. — Howard Walker, Robb Report, 21 Aug. 2026 On one hand, that meant the government exercised control over the shrine’s practices and finances. — ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026 The mandate was awarded to Great Britain but was to be exercised by South Africa (then a dominion within the British Empire). — Encyclopedia Britannica, 14 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exercised
  1. exerted
  2. practiced
  3. used
  4. bothered
  5. applied
  6. utilized
  7. alarmed
  8. exploited
Verb
  • Will challenges often allege that someone exerted undue influence over the testator or that the testator had diminished mental capacity.
    — Bob Carlson, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Many lived in company towns, where coal operators owned their homes and stores and ultimately exerted enormous control over their daily lives.
    — Katie Angell Britannica Editors Aug. 27, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of exerted
Verb
  • The one true upgrade the Eagles tried to make on a stout defense, trading for LB Jonathan Greenard and signing him to a big extension, has been snake eyes – Greenard hasn’t practiced in training camp after a pectoral muscle tear.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Nepali authorities are well-practiced in emergency response, especially after experiences like the 2015 earthquake that killed around 9,000 people, aid workers say.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of practiced
Verb
  • Bleach should never be used on a mattress, even if it’s diluted.
    — Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Even so, Wemlinger says the combo was used in much the same way throughout the home.
    — Kristina McGuirk, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of used
Verb
  • Somewhere right now, a nurse is scoring a newborn out of ten because Virginia saw over breakfast something nobody else had bothered to address.
    — Stacy L. Hambleton, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • What bothered me most was that the effects always lasted longer than the fun did.
    — Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of bothered
Verb
  • The country applied to join the EU in 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
    — Azhar Sukri, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2026
  • If lime is needed to adjust the pH of the soil, it should be applied at least 1 month before reseeding.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of applied
Verb
  • Daily cargo operations The limestone transported by MV Yampu will be utilized to produce cement for homes, schools, hospitals, roads and other infrastructure in Victoria and South Australia.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Toronto utilized seven pitchers in a bullpen game and registered eight strikeouts.
    — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of utilized
Verb
  • California Forever has increasingly pitched the Solano Shipyard as part of a broader effort to rebuild the US maritime industry, a priority among both Democrats and Republicans alarmed over its decline.
    — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The world’s most powerful economies are increasingly alarmed by their declining birthrates, and there’s no shortage of theories on why.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of alarmed
Verb
  • Three more defendants have been sentenced to a total of 155 months in prison for their role in the Feeding Our Future Fraud scheme–the $250 MILLION scheme that exploited a program intended to feed thousands of children in Minnesota.
    — Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Early on July 11, agent 38148c found and exploited a zero-day in the Hugging Face handling of HDF5 files.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of exploited

Browse Nearby Words

exercise
exercised
exerciser
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Cite this Entry

“Exercised.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exercised. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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