aggravating
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of aggravating
First recorded in 1630–40; aggravat(e) + -ing 2
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.
He said the international community needed to do more to prevent foreign trawlers operating illegally in the region, aggravating locals.
From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026
But Nexstar seems to be only aggravating the tension between its professed Middle America branding and its actual business moves.
From Slate • Apr. 21, 2026
“The AI Doc” is a well-intentioned but aggravating soup of information and opinion that wants to move at the speed of machine thought.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026
The starting point was the aggravating factors - length of time of the wrongdoing, the size of payments, that they were made with the knowledge of senior figures and the seriousness of the breaches.
From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026
“God, you sound like Jenna. You look like Jenna. You can even be so damn precise and picky and aggravating like Jenna.”
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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.
