aggravated
Americanadjective
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I get so aggravated when I get this much junk mail.
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made worse or more severe; intensified.
Stress impedes the emptying of the stomach, which can lead to aggravated heartburn.
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Law. characterized by some feature defined by law that enhances the crime, as the intention of the criminal or the special vulnerability of the victim.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- unaggravated adjective
Etymology
Origin of aggravated
Explanation
When you see the word aggravated in the description of a crime, it's a more serious crime. Aggravated assault is more than a punch in the nose — it’s assault with the intent of causing serious bodily harm. Aggravated is built on the Latin root gravis "heavy," as in gravity, and with the prefix ad-, it means "to make heavy." So robbery is one thing, but aggravated robbery is not only robbing someone, but also causing physical harm, and the punishment would be harsher than for simple robbery. The word is used more casually to mean "angered" — you're likely to be an aggravated customer if you’ve been waiting in line forever and someone cuts in front of you.
Vocabulary lists containing aggravated
The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 6
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 2
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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.
But peer a little closer, and one could see that the brushstrokes lost their consistency and that the lines were harsher, more aggravated.
From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026
Barring another appeal, Rivas will be sent back to her home country to stand trial on charges of aggravated kidnapping.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
The deployment of hundreds of thousands of young men to the battlefield in Ukraine over the last four years has only aggravated the problem.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
When he and his family moved to a quiet Brooklyn street, instead of basking in relief he quickly found himself aggravated by barking dogs and other fresh triggers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
His hair shook like it too was aggravated.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
