aggravate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome.
to aggravate a grievance; to aggravate an illness.
- Antonyms:
- alleviate
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to annoy; irritate; exasperate.
His questions aggravate her.
-
to cause to become irritated or inflamed.
The child's constant scratching aggravated the rash.
verb
-
to make (a disease, situation, problem, etc) worse or more severe
-
informal to annoy; exasperate, esp by deliberate and persistent goading
Usage
The two most common senses of aggravate are “to make worse” and “to annoy or exasperate.” Both senses first appeared in the early 17th century at almost the same time; the corresponding two senses of the noun aggravation also appeared then. Both senses of aggravate and aggravation have been standard since then. The use of aggravate to mean “annoy” is sometimes objected to because it departs from the etymological meaning “to make heavier,” and in formal speech and writing the sense “annoy” is somewhat less frequent than “to make worse.” The noun aggravation meaning “annoyance” occurs in all types of speech and writing.
Related Words
Aggravate, intensify both mean to increase in degree. To aggravate is to make more serious or more grave: to aggravate a danger, an offense, a wound. To intensify is perceptibly to increase intensity, force, energy, vividness, etc.: to intensify heat, color, rage.
Other Word Forms
- aggravating adjective
- aggravation noun
- aggravative adjective
- aggravator noun
- overaggravate verb (used with object)
- preaggravate verb (used with object)
- reaggravate verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of aggravate
1425–75; late Middle English < Latin aggravātus (past participle of aggravāre ), equivalent to ag- ag- + grav- ( grave 2 ) + -ātus -ate 1; aggrieve
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.
These casualties are aggravating, sure, but they allow Chalamet’s star to shine so bright that it blinds.
From Salon
"Urgency and unity is what we need," he said, calling for bipartisan support for "creating an aggravated offence for hate preaching" and other new laws.
From Barron's
But after entering Sunday’s win over the Lions with a lingering hamstring injury, the three-time All Pro aggravated it on a deep pass attempt.
Still, they know, you know, I know, the neighborhood dogs and cats know, and all those aggravated Eagles fans know—something is off.
India will not play skipper Shubman Gill in the second Test against South Africa on Saturday if it risks aggravating his neck injury, a team coach said.
From Barron's
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.
