exacerbate
Americanverb
-
to make (pain, disease, emotion, etc) more intense; aggravate
-
to exasperate or irritate (a person)
Other Word Forms
- exacerbatingly adverb
- exacerbation noun
- unexacerbating adjective
Etymology
Origin of exacerbate
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin exacerbātus (past participle of exacerbāre “to exasperate, provoke”), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + acerbātus acerbate
Compare meaning
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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.
There have been concerns that the threat of violence to Jewish communities around the world could be exacerbated due to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
From BBC
The concerns were exacerbated after Blue Owl Capital attempted a merger of a public and a private fund that the latter’s investors feared would have put them at a disadvantage.
Yields on European government bonds rose to multimonth highs on Friday as Brent crude oil prices jumped above $100 due to the Middle East war, exacerbating worries about inflation.
Also lagging has been the kind of hiring expected from a growing economy, exacerbated by thousands of job cuts in Silicon Valley, which firms say have been prompted by artificial intelligence investment and disruption.
From Los Angeles Times
In Florida, the growing population in general and the aging population in particular are putting particular pressure on hospitals and medical practices, and that is exacerbated by staffing shortages.
From MarketWatch
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.
