exacerbate
Americanverb
-
to make (pain, disease, emotion, etc) more intense; aggravate
-
to exasperate or irritate (a person)
Other Word Forms
- exacerbatingly adverb
- exacerbation noun
- unexacerbating adjective
Etymology
Origin of exacerbate
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin exacerbātus (past participle of exacerbāre “to exasperate, provoke”), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + acerbātus acerbate
Compare meaning
How does exacerbate 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.
Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, and more Venezuelan crude in the market could exacerbate oversupply concerns and add to recent pressure on prices.
From Barron's
This could exacerbate Canada's housing crunch, Mr Hildebrand said, as condos are heavily relied on to boost supply in big cities.
From BBC
Launched six years later, Master of Disaster has been updated this year to address more events exacerbated by human-driven climate change, such as landslides, drought and heatwaves.
From Barron's
“Moreover, the prejudice to Mr. Parias has been exacerbated by the government’s conduct especially as it relates to meeting deadlines and producing discovery,” he wrote.
From Los Angeles Times
But the issues caused by those shortcomings in attack have been further exacerbated by a poor record in defending set-pieces of late.
From BBC
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.
