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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exasperatinglyadverb
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exasperaternoun
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exasperationnoun
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unexasperatingadjective
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exasperatingadjective
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exasperatedlyadverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have exasperatedperfect
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has exasperatedperfect 3rd person singular
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are exasperatingprogressive
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is exasperatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been exasperatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am exasperatingprogressive 1st person singular
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exasperatingparticiple
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have been exasperatingperfect progressive
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exasperatessingular 3rd person
Past
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had exasperatedperfect
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was exasperatingprogressive singular
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were exasperatingprogressive plural
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had been exasperatingperfect progressive
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exasperatedparticiple
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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
How does exasperate compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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List 2
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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.
Penn State has four 11-win seasons since 2016 under Franklin, but here are the numbers that exasperate Nittany Lions fans: 1-9 against Ohio State; 3-16 vs. top-10 teams; 1-13 vs.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 21, 2023
“They exasperate before and after. They dwell instead in a null space, a long between. Distrust anyone who tries to pin them to the pages of a book.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 28, 2023
However, quite how the hosts did not manage to win will mystify and exasperate the new man at the helm.
From BBC • Oct. 18, 2022
The series can tend toward the twee, and the characters can exasperate.
From New York Times • Sep. 1, 2022
He kicked, pounded, twisted, pushed, using his lack of size to confound and exasperate Elisha, whose damp fists, joined at the small of John’s back, soon slipped.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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.
