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Meaning & use

exhortation

noun·Advancedformal

Last updated

UK/ˌeksɔːˈteɪʃn/
US/ˌeksɔːrˈteɪʃn/

Meaning

  1. nouncountable or uncountableformal

    A strong, earnest appeal urging people to act in a certain way.

    Grammar: Countable for one appeal (an exhortation); uncountable in general (exhortation fills the speech).

    Patterns

    • an exhortation to do something
    • exhortation to someone

    The coach's exhortation to keep going lifted the team.

    Despite repeated exhortations, few people voted.

    The sermon ended with an exhortation to be generous.

Word forms

pluralexhortations

Common combinations

exhortation to
His exhortation to work harder was ignored.
moral exhortation
The speech was full of moral exhortation.
repeated exhortations
Repeated exhortations failed to change anyone's mind.
words of exhortation
She offered a few words of exhortation.

Synonyms and how they differ

urging
Urging is plainer and need not be a speech.
appeal
Appeal can be a request for help and is less forceful than exhortation.
sermon
Sermon suggests a religious or moralizing talk, often long.

Word family

exhort verb
to urge strongly
exhortatory adjective
intended to urge people on

Commonly confused: exhortation or extortion?

exhortation vs extortion

Extortion means getting money by threats; exhortation means urging someone to do something.

Practice

The captain's final ___ to stay calm helped the crew through the storm.

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