Word Confusion: Exact versus Extract

Posted January 23, 2020 by kddidit in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
5 Dec 2023

It was all those recipes for extracts on Pinterest that got me to thinking about the exact nature of an extract and how they could be used.

And then of course, a writer wanted their character to “extract revenge”, which I took to mean that character no longer wanted to pursue the revenge for which she had been thirsting for years.

Ahem.

Now if that character had stated she wanted to “exact revenge”, I’d’ve been right there for her, holding her spear.

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Exploring Later . . .

You may also want to explore “Evacuation versus Extraction“.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Exact Extract

A thermometer

Exact Temperature by Clker-Free-Vector-Images is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay.


there is extract of red cabbage in the beacker and in the flack on the left. On the right there are two solution: one of NaOH and the other one of NH4OH. In the middle there is a test tube rack and some test tubes with different substances.

Extract of Red Cabbage in the Beaker by Alessandro e Damiano is under the CC-BY 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

Part of Grammar:
Adjective; Verb, transitive

Third person present verb: exacts
Past tense or Past participle: exacted
Present participle: exacting

Noun; Verb, transitive

Plural for the noun: extracts
Gerund: extracting

Third person present verb: extracts
Past tense or past participle: extracted
Present participle: extracting

Adjective:
Not approximated in any way

  • Precise
  • Accurate or correct in all details
  • Strict or rigorous
  • [Of a person] Tending to be accurate and careful about minor details
  • [Of a subject of study] Permitting precise or absolute measurements as a basis for rigorously testable theories

Verb, transitive:
Demand, call for, require, and obtain (something, especially a payment) from someone

  • To force or compel the payment, yielding, or performance of
  • Inflict (revenge) on someone
Noun:
A short passage taken from a piece of writing, music, or film

  • Excerpt
  • Quotation

A preparation containing the active ingredient of a substance in concentrated form

  • A solid, viscid, or liquid substance extracted from a plant, drug, or the like, containing its essence in concentrated form

Verb, transitive:
Get, remove, or take out, especially by effort or force

  • To deduce (a doctrine, principle, interpretation, etc.)
  • Derive (an idea or the evidence for it) from a body of information
  • Extort (something such as money, information, or an admission) from someone in the face of initial unwillingness
  • Select (a passage from a piece of writing, music, or film) for quotation, performance, or reproduction
  • [Mathematics] Calculate the root of a quantity that has a single or multiple roots

To separate or obtain (a juice, ingredient, etc.) from a mixture by pressure, distillation, treatment with solvents, or the like

  • Obtain (a substance or resource) from something by a special method

To derive or obtain pleasure, comfort, etc., from a particular source

Examples:
Adjective:
The exact details were still being worked out.

An exact replica, two feet tall, was constructed.

She was an exact, clever manager.

Magic isn’t an exact science.

Exact instruments must be acquired for this experiment.

I swear! It was an exact likeness.

It was on this exact date that he left the country.

Verb, transitive:
Tributes were exacted from the Slavic peoples.

William’s advisers exacted an oath of obedience from the clergy.

He exacts a cruel revenge against the winning candidate.

One must do one’s best to exact respect from one’s children.

Loansharks intend to exact money they lent.

Noun:
It was an extract from a historical film.

Vanilla extract is a common ingredient in baking.

I found a number of recipes for making my own extract in Pinterest.

Beef extract is best when it’s homemade, but I prefer the bouillon cube for its ease of use.

She uses a shampoo with an extract of chamomile.

Most often consumed through standardized extracts, tinctures, or concentrated drops, bilberry may also discourage cataracts and glaucoma.

Verb, transitive:
That decayed tooth will have to be extracted.

I won’t let you go without trying to extract a promise from you.

He extracted a completely personal meaning from what was said.

He extracted satisfaction from the success of his sons.

We’ll have to extract the secret from him.

Lead was extracted from the copper.

The table is extracted from the report.

It was the desire to extract meaningful lessons from a few experiments that led to the disaster.

Early computers had an instruction to extract a square root.

Derivatives:
Adjective: exactable, exacting, nonexactable
Adverb: exactly
Noun: exacter, exacting, exaction, exactitude, exactness, exactor
Adjective: extractable, extrictable, extractive, nonextractable, nonextracted
Noun: extractability, extractibility, extraction, extractor
History of the Word:
Late Middle English (as a verb) is from the Latin exact- meaning completed, ascertained, enforced, and is from the verb exigere, from ex- (thoroughly) + agere (perform).

The adjective dates from the mid-16th century and reflects the Latin exactus meaning precise.

Late Middle English from the Latin extract- meaning drawn out, from the verb extrahere, which is from ex- (out) + trahere (draw).

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Exact versus Extract

Apple Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com: extract

Lexico.com: extract

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Close-up of a Woman Pours a Spoon of Medicinal Mixture by Marco Verch, professional photographer and speaker, has had its background removed and is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr.

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