exaction

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ɪɡˈzækʃən/ UK /ɪɡˈzækʃən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the act of demanding and obtaining payment, often unjustly; the sum exacted

The peasants groaned under the tax collector's relentless exaction.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of demanding and... extortion levy tribute imposition tax toll demand

Opposites

remission exemption

Word family

Related forms exactexactorexactment

Etymology

From Latin exactio ('a driving out, demanding, collection of taxes'), from exigere ('to drive out, demand, exact'), from ex- ('out') + agere ('to drive, do').

exactio Latin exigere Latin agere Latin *h₂eǵ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# exaction

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɪɡˈzækʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪɡˈzækʃən/

## Meanings
1. the act of demanding and obtaining payment, often unjustly; the sum exacted

## Examples
- The peasants groaned under the tax collector's relentless exaction.

## Synonyms
- extortion
- levy
- tribute
- imposition
- tax
- toll
- demand

## Antonyms
- remission
- exemption

## Related Forms
- exact
- exactor
- exactment

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: exactio
- Root: exigere
- Root: agere
- Root: *h₂eǵ-

## Etymology
From Latin exactio ('a driving out, demanding, collection of taxes'), from exigere ('to drive out, demand, exact'), from ex- ('out') + agere ('to drive, do').

## AI Etymology
Exaction comes from Latin exactio ('a driving out, demanding, collection of taxes'), from exigere ('to drive out, demand, exact'), from ex- ('out') + agere ('to drive, do'). Morphologically, the form is compositional: ex- marks part of the visible structure, while the remaining element supplies the lexical base. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "the act of demanding and obtaining payment, often unjustly; the sum exacted", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as exact, exactor, and exactment, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin exactio, Latin exigere, Latin agere, and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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