exasperate
Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
verb
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to cause great irritation or anger to; infuriate
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to cause (an unpleasant feeling, condition, etc) to worsen; aggravate
adjective
Synonym Usage
See irritate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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exasperaternoun
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exasperatingadjective
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unexasperatingadjective
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exasperationnoun
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exasperatedlyadverb
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exasperatinglyadverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have exasperatedperfect
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has exasperatedperfect 3rd person singular
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am exasperatingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been exasperatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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exasperatingparticiple
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have been exasperatingperfect progressive
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are exasperatingprogressive
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exasperatessingular 3rd person
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is exasperatingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had exasperatedperfect
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were exasperatingprogressive plural
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had been exasperatingperfect progressive
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exasperatedparticiple
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was exasperatingprogressive singular
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exasperatedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of exasperate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin exasperātus (past participle of exasperāre “to make rough, provoke”), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + asper “harsh, rough” + -ātus -ate 1
Compare meaning
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Explanation
To exasperate someone is to annoy him or her to the point of impatience, frustration and irritation, like when you exasperate a busy waiter by asking questions like "what are all the ingredients in the salad dressing?" and making him repeat the specials five times. The verb exasperate comes from the Latin word exasperatus, which means “to roughen,” “irritate,” or “provoke.” To exasperate is to make something that is already bad even worse, like when sitting in traffic that is sure to make you late, you exasperate the person who is driving by bringing up an unpleasant topic, or the addition of twenty more students that exasperates the crowding in the cafeteria.
Vocabulary lists containing exasperate
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The Tragedy of Macbeth
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Thoughts my Tormenters arm'd with deadly stings Mangle my apprehensive tenderest parts, Exasperate, exulcerate, and raise Dire inflammation which no cooling herb Or medcinal liquor can asswage, Nor breath of Vernal Air from snowy Alp.
From The Poetical Works of John Milton by Milton, John
Exasperate, egz-as′pėr-āt, v.t. to make very angry: to irritate in a high degree.—p.adj. irritated.—adjs.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Aggravate, Exasperate To aggravate means to intensify, to make worse; to exasperate means to provoke, to irritate.
From Slips of Speech : a Helpful Book for Everyone Who Aspires to Correct the Everyday Errors of Speaking by Bechtel, John Hendricks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
