1
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in used
to put into action or service
commended the firefighters for exercising really good judgment in that emergency
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of exercised
What started as attacks targeting US forces evolved over the years into something far more entrenched — political leverage over Shia parties alongside military power exercised through militias.
—
Alaa Shahine Salha, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Combat systems are not fully exercised at this stage, as the focus remains on engineering performance and seaworthiness.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 29 Apr. 2026
Internal documents from Blue Hills, however, show the influence McCrory exercised over the state taxpayer money that arrived in Blue Hills’ bank accounts between 2022 and 2025.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 27 Apr. 2026
The Commission is comprised of 13 commissioners who are appointed for terms of up to 5 years by the governor general on the advice of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, whose authority is exercised by the federal Cabinet of the governing party in the Canadian Parliament.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026
The Philadelphia Eagles exercised the fifth-year options for Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith on Monday, the team announced.
—Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
But in discharging this function, poets are in danger of slighting another imperative, namely, to redress poetry as poetry, to set it up as its own category, an eminence established and a pressure exercised by distinctly linguistic means.
—Nick Laird, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
But that power is not always exercised appropriately — that paper found that in 13% of special issues across the past decade, more than a third of the papers were authored by the guest editor.
—Anil Oza, STAT, 24 Apr. 2026
The Cowboys placed the tag on Pickens, considering he was set to be a free agent - the Steelers had not exercised Pickens' fifth-year option before trading him.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Alaa Shahine Salha, semafor.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Combat systems are not fully exercised at this stage, as the focus remains on engineering performance and seaworthiness.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 29 Apr. 2026
Internal documents from Blue Hills, however, show the influence McCrory exercised over the state taxpayer money that arrived in Blue Hills’ bank accounts between 2022 and 2025.
—Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 27 Apr. 2026
The Commission is comprised of 13 commissioners who are appointed for terms of up to 5 years by the governor general on the advice of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, whose authority is exercised by the federal Cabinet of the governing party in the Canadian Parliament.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Apr. 2026
The Philadelphia Eagles exercised the fifth-year options for Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith on Monday, the team announced.
—Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
But in discharging this function, poets are in danger of slighting another imperative, namely, to redress poetry as poetry, to set it up as its own category, an eminence established and a pressure exercised by distinctly linguistic means.
—Nick Laird, The New York Review of Books, 25 Apr. 2026
But that power is not always exercised appropriately — that paper found that in 13% of special issues across the past decade, more than a third of the papers were authored by the guest editor.
—Anil Oza, STAT, 24 Apr. 2026
The Cowboys placed the tag on Pickens, considering he was set to be a free agent - the Steelers had not exercised Pickens' fifth-year option before trading him.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exercised
Verb
-
Villa have rarely exerted themselves but largely won comfortably anyway, barring the October aberration of a 2-1 loss away to Go Ahead Eagles of the Netherlands in the league phase.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Proponents of citizen journalism saw the control exerted by a few professionals over the news agenda as problematic and hoped that bringing more contributors to the process would lead to news coverage that was more representative of the general public’s issues and concerns.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
People become less practiced at receiving correction without personalizing it, less able to separate discomfort from harm, and less willing to endure the friction that growth requires.—
Jonathan Alpert OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Ahead of taking on the task of replicating Michael's legendary voice and performing skills, Jaafar practiced for hours on end to sing as Michael.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Two snakes, believed to be cobras, were used in the show, officials said.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Today, the same tools are being used by state actors for geopolitical propaganda.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Who never bothered to delete the erroneous post.—
Joe Rexrode,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
With Minnesota viewing them as soft, the Nuggets hardly seem bothered by the criticism.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Computer science major Ben Aybar, 22, graduated last spring from the University of Chicago and applied for about 50 jobs, mostly in software engineering, without getting a single interview.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Anxiety also reaches computer science majors Computer science major Ben Aybar, 22, graduated last spring from the University of Chicago and applied for about 50 jobs, mostly in software engineering, without getting a single interview.—
Jocelyn Gecker,
Fortune,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
He’s viewed as a developmental quarterback prospect, but Green is athletic enough that he could be moved to another position or utilized as a short-yardage runner and specialty player.—
Zac Jackson,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
At this point, Jovic’s contract would be more an offload than an enticement, perhaps a vehicle to be utilized in taking on Ja Morant’s money.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Like so many in her field, The Ohio State University oncologist Ning Jin is alarmed by the number of patients in their 30s and 40s with late-stage cancer in their lower digestive tract.—
Yuki Noguchi,
NPR,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The casual acknowledgement of brushing off offers of bribes alarmed some Republican activists, who will endorse a candidate for governor at their state convention on May 16.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Both of those vulnerabilities were actively exploited in the wild.—
Scharon Harding,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Workers put their bodies, livelihoods and lives on the line to oppose employers and governments that exploited physical laborers through inhumane working conditions.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exercised.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exercised. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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