exacerbated

[ig-zas-er-bey-tid, ek-sas-]

adjective

1. made worse, more severe, or more bitter; aggravated.

   The Economic Policy Institute recently released a study showing evidence of an exacerbated income gap between rich and poor.

2. feeling or showing embitterment, irritation, or exasperation.

   With an exacerbated huff, the gunslinger hauled a second revolver from his shoulder, training its barrel on the captain.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of exacerbate.

Other Word Forms

• unexacerbated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of exacerbated¹

exacerbate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

That has helped AI produce better answers—and exacerbated AI’s resource needs.

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They were also the scene during the Covid pandemic of massive containership backups that were exacerbated by a lack of modern equipment.

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The imbalance has been exacerbated by stockpiling at metals warehouses around the world because of the threat of a silver tariff.

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“They could strategically place water tenders nearby, and they wouldn’t have the situation that created them running out of water, which exacerbated the response to the fire,” he said.

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The loss of experienced staff has been exacerbated by the new decision-making process at the agency, which is largely controlled by political appointees, disrupting the traditional chain of command and slowing response times, employees said.

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