Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To urge by strong, often stirring argument, admonition, advice, or appeal.
  • intransitive verb To make an urgent appeal.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of exhorting; an exhortation.
  • To incite by words or advice; animate or urge by arguments to some act, or to some course of conduct or action; stir up.
  • To advise; admonish; caution.
  • Synonyms To incite, stimulate, encourage; appeal to, beg, enjoin, adjure.
  • To deliver exhortation; ecclesiastical, to use appeals or arguments to incite; practise public exhortation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To incite by words or advice; to animate or urge by arguments, as to a good deed or laudable conduct; to address exhortation to; to urge strongly; hence, to advise, warn, or caution.
  • noun obsolete Exhortation.
  • intransitive verb To deliver exhortation; to use words or arguments to incite to good deeds.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To urge; to advise earnestly.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb spur on or encourage especially by cheers and shouts
  • verb force or impel in an indicated direction

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English exhorten, from Latin exhortārī : ex-, intensive pref.; see ex– + hortārī, to encourage; see gher- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin exhortor ("encourage"), from ex- + hortor ("incite, spur")

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Examples

  • He was using the phrase to exhort his compatriots to prepare for war, to engage in the struggle for freedom.

    American Sketches Walter Isaacson 2009

  • Or it may be meant of the public reading of the scriptures; he must read and exhort, that is, read and expound, read and press what he read upon them; he must expound it both by way of exhortation and by way of doctrine; he must teach them both what to do and what to believe.

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation) 1721

  • Americans were tired of hearing Obama "exhort" bankers and speculators to play nice as they collected their record bonuses for a heckuva job in 2009.

    Taylor Marsh: The Obama Brand Implodes 2010

  • Americans were tired of hearing Obama "exhort" bankers and speculators to play nice as they collected their record bonuses for a heckuva job in 2009.

    Drew Westen: Obama Finally Gets His Victory For Bipartisanship 2010

  • Where the Tories will "exhort" corporations to be "socially responsible", Labour can provide a tough framework for balancing companies 'desire for profits with the needs of ordinary people.

    The Cruddas manifesto 2008

  • Where the Tories will "exhort" corporations to be "socially responsible", Labour can provide a tough framework for balancing companies 'desire for profits with the needs of ordinary people.

    Gordon Brown, Charlie Whelan and Me 2008

  • The word here rendered 'exhort' is found in Paul's writings as bearing special meanings, such as consoling, stimulating, encouraging, rebuking and others.

    Expositions of Holy Scripture: Romans Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V) Alexander Maclaren 1868

  • Americans were tired of hearing Obama "exhort" bankers and speculators to play nice as they collected their record bonuses for a heckuva job in 2009.

    Taylor Marsh 2010

  • Americans were tired of hearing Obama "exhort" bankers and speculators to play nice as they collected their record bonuses for a heckuva job in 2009.

    Climate Progress 2010

  • Americans were tired of hearing Obama "exhort" bankers and speculators to play nice as they collected their record bonuses for a heckuva job in 2009.

    Nevada Thunder 2010

Comments

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  • Peter exhorted his listeners to repent and respond to the gospel “that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

    December 2, 2010

  • I went to school with a girl called Janet Hort. She, uhh, did in fact change her name when she married.

    December 2, 2010