exasperate
Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
verb
-
to cause great irritation or anger to; infuriate
-
to cause (an unpleasant feeling, condition, etc) to worsen; aggravate
adjective
Related Words
See irritate.
Other Word Forms
- exasperatedly adverb
- exasperater noun
- exasperating adjective
- exasperatingly adverb
- exasperation noun
- unexasperating adjective
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:
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.
She spits out the word “soccer” in the exasperated way she usually says “homework” or “math test.”
From Literature
Documentarian Geeta Gandbhir retraces this slow-moving tragedy through the body camera footage of the exasperated officers who know that the caller, not the children, is the problem.
From Los Angeles Times
But the cyclops can’t solve the simplest of riddles and the increasingly exasperated maidens, who’ll be free once a riddle is solved, can’t get them to stop approaching the cave or from making terrible guesses.
From Los Angeles Times
I did not, however, manage to do the same to my exasperated groan, and of course old Treebaun heard it.
From Literature
“Well, I wish somebody had told me that our dad was in a coming-out loop!” says an exasperated Richard, who is usually the one exasperating others.
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.
