aggravate
Americanverb (used with object)
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aggravates,
present (3rd person singular)
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aggravated,
past participle, past
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aggravating
present participle
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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.
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to cause to become irritated or inflamed.
The child's constant scratching aggravated the rash.
verb
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to make (a disease, situation, problem, etc) worse or more severe
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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.
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
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aggravationnoun
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aggravatornoun
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overaggravateverb (used with object)
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preaggravateverb (used with object)
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reaggravateverb (used with object)
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aggravatingadjective
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aggravativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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aggravatesimple
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aggravatessimple
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have aggravatedperfect
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has aggravatedperfect
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am aggravatingprogressive
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are aggravatingprogressive
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is aggravatingprogressive
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have been aggravatingperfect progressive
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has been aggravatingperfect progressive
Past
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aggravatedsimple
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had aggravatedperfect
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was aggravatingprogressive
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were aggravatingprogressive
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had been aggravatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of aggravate
1425–75; late Middle English < Latin aggravātus (past participle of aggravāre ), equivalent to ag- ag- + grav- ( see grave 2) + -ātus -ate 1; cf. aggrieve
Explanation
People who chew with their mouths open often aggravate the people near them, meaning that they exasperate their neighbors. One trick for remembering the meaning of aggravate is to recall that it rhymes with one of its synonyms, irritate. When you irritate, you aggravate. Younger brothers often aggravate their older brothers, because they find it entertaining to get a reaction out of them. Aggravate is also used to mean "make worse." For example, if you have an old knee injury, it's probably best not to climb Mount Everest, because you might aggravate the injury. If your house is in foreclosure, calling your banker an ugly name is likely only to aggravate the situation. Try a little sweet talk instead!
Vocabulary lists containing aggravate
Good Grief!: Grav, Griev
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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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.
See Examples For:
"You can use this knowledge to help bedridden patients. They also experience constipation and likely also have increased protein fermentation that may aggravate health conditions," concludes Lars Ove Dragsted, senior author of the paper.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026
For lawyer and activist Arif Ali Cangi, the legislation approved in July, which allows companies to expropriate or rezone agricultural land for mining, will only aggravate the situation.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
In fact, the so-called positive attributes men are told to cultivate aggravate his woefulness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
McIlroy is confident he would not aggravate the injury were he to play here this week.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026
“Your father’s a little tired tonight. Maybe you’d better go over to a friend’s house to do your homework? I mean he’s worked hard, and I don’t think we should aggravate him, do you?”
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
NOx is a smog-forming pollutant that aggravates respiratory illnesses, especially asthma, forms acid rain and contributes to nutrient pollution in coastal waters.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
The document asks all the right questions and reaches all the wrong conclusions—the way a doctor might correctly identify symptoms and then prescribe a remedy that aggravates the disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Turning our heads toward the future aggravates the whiplash induced by rapid change.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
"The worst time for me is when we're driving in the autumn and the sun is low and the sun is flickering through the trees...it really aggravates," says Dr Munro.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2025
It wouldn't hurt if he weren't right—if I hadn't known somewhere that my weakness aggravates him.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
A Texas grand jury indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly struck a fleeing man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Late Tuesday, the prosecutor for Tours said the officer involved had been charged with aggravated battery.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Plummeting share prices for the Korean memory chip makers were aggravated by a drop in chip stocks in the U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Officials attribute the deaths to mainly measles and malaria, possibly aggravated by malnutrition and delays in treatment.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
This enforced separation from his family aggravated the hatred for America that he’d felt since 1976, when he lost his case in federal court and refused thereafter to pay taxes.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
The plaintiffs cite an additional aggravating factor: Shell's "history of misinformation regarding the causes and impacts of climate change," said Greg Lascelles, a lawyer at Hausfeld, the firm handling the lawsuit in London.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The judge said there were a number of aggravating factors in the case against Keenan, including his failure to identify himself as the driver at the time.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Rushing received platelet-rich plasma injection after aggravating the flexor injury a second time while working through a throwing program at the beginning of the month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
He’s been throwing weighted plyo balls to keep his arm strength up without aggravating his knee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Also, he still wasn’t letting me drive Mom’s car, which was getting more aggravating by the day.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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