exacting
ex·act·ing/ɪɡˈzæktɪŋ/adjective, verb
exacting is spelled E-X-A-C-T-I-N-G: 8 letters and 3 syllables (ex·act·ing). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, exacting means “Making great demands; difficult to satisfy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in exacting?
| Letters | 8: E-X-A-C-T-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: ex·act·ing |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,789th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is exacting?
Exacting appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce exacting?
- /ɪɡˈzæktɪŋ/
Exacting has 3 syllables, split ex·act·ing in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-exacting.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of exacting
- more exacting comparative
- most exacting superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does exacting mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Making great demands; difficult to satisfy.
- 2
Of an action, task, etc., requiring precise accuracy, great care, effort, or attention.
- 3
Of a person or organization, characterized by exaction.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of exact
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Exacting in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense making great demands; difficult to satisfy:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | exigeant |
| German | anspruchsvoll, wählerisch, kleinlich |
| Portuguese | exigente |
| Spanish | exigente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does exacting come from?
From exact + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).