Definition

1. Verb:
   • To strongly encourage or urge someone to do something: To advise or try to persuade someone earnestly, often with a sense of urgency or moral duty.
   • To give an earnest warning or advice: To counsel someone seriously regarding a course of action, often to correct or prevent something.

Examples of Usage

• Verb:
  • The coach exhorted the team to give their final effort in the last minutes of the game.
  • Environmental activists exhort the public to reduce plastic consumption.
  • She exhorted her brother to reconsider his risky decision.

Advanced Usage

• "to exhort someone to (do something)": The standard construction for urging a specific action.
  • The leader exhorted the people to remain calm during the crisis.
• "to exhort against something": To strongly advise someone not to do something.
  • The doctor exhorted him against ignoring the symptoms.

Variants and Related Words

• Exhortation (n): The act of exhorting; an earnest speech or piece of advice intended to strongly encourage.
  • The general's exhortation inspired the troops before the battle.
• Exhortative (adj): Having the nature of or intended to exhort.
  • He delivered an exhortative speech on civic duty.

Synonyms

• Urge: To strongly advise or try hard to persuade.
• Encourage: To give support, confidence, or hope to someone.
• Implore: To beg someone earnestly or desperately to do something.
• Admonish: To warn or reprimand someone firmly, often advising them to correct their behavior.

Related Phrasal Verbs

(This word does not commonly form standard phrasal verbs. Its meaning is typically expressed through the verb itself with prepositions like "to" or "against," as shown in the 'Advanced Usage' section.)

Related Idioms

• "To preach and exhort": To give earnest advice or moral instruction persistently (often used slightly critically).
  • He spent the meeting preaching and exhorting about efficiency, but offered no practical solutions.

Verb

1. force or impel in an indicated direction
   • I urged him to finish his studies
2. spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts
   • The crowd cheered the demonstrating strikers