GRE word list

To compel or force someone to pay or surrender something, especially through coercion or force; to demand and obtain by force (as in a heavy toll or penalty). This is a less-common, contextual sense distinct from the everyday meaning of 'precise' or 'accurate'.

Definition Sentence

The rebel leader exacted a heavy toll from the villagers by forcing them to pay in grain and labor.

Also extort · extract · levy · impose by force · compel