aggravate
verb (used with object)
to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome.
is aggravating
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present progressiveof aggravate (3rd person singular).present progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or state that is currently taking place in the immediate present.
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.
“This whole thing is aggravating because there’s no place in America where you can just take it down the road,” said Terry White, Discovery’s retired orbital processing chief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
But, the artifice of the season finale is aggravating, as are the outrageous sums of money involved.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024
The World Health Organization says that while poverty and conflict remain enduring drivers for cholera around the world, climate change is aggravating the acute global upsurge of the disease that began in 2021.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 1, 2023
As with Japan, the war in Ukraine is aggravating South Korea’s security situation too.
From Slate ● Jan. 31, 2023
The impersonality of Japan was as restful to him as it is aggravating to a European.
From Kimono by John Paris
