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aggravative

 - 3 dictionary results

ag⋅gra⋅vate

  [ag-ruh-veyt]
Use aggravative in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -vat⋅ed, -vat⋅ing.
1. to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome: to aggravate a grievance; to aggravate an illness.
2. to annoy; irritate; exasperate: His questions aggravate her.
3. to cause to become irritated or inflamed: The child's constant scratching aggravated the rash.
Origin:
1425–75; late ME < L aggravātus (ptp. of aggravāre), equiv. to ag- ag- + grav- (see grave 2 ) + -ātus -ate 1 ; cf. aggrieve

Related forms:
ag⋅gra⋅va⋅tive, adjective
ag⋅gra⋅va⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
1. heighten, increase. Aggravate, intensify both mean to increase in degree. To aggravate is to make more serious or more grave: to aggravate a danger, an offense, a wound. To intensify is perceptibly to increase intensity, force, energy, vividness, etc.: to intensify heat, color, rage. 2. anger, vex, rile.

Antonyms:
1. alleviate.

Usage note:
The two most common senses of aggravate are “to make worse” and “to annoy or exasperate.” Both senses first appeared in the early 17th century at almost the same time; the corresponding two senses of the noun aggravation also appeared then. Both senses of aggravate and aggravation have been standard since then. The use of aggravate to mean “annoy” is sometimes objected to because it departs from the etymological meaning “to make heavier,” and in formal speech and writing the sense “annoy” is somewhat less frequent than “to make worse.” The noun aggravation meaning “annoyance” occurs in all types of speech and writing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To aggravative
ag·gra·vate   (āg'rə-vāt')   
tr.v.   ag·gra·vat·ed, ag·gra·vat·ing, ag·gra·vates

  1. To make worse or more troublesome.

  2. To rouse to exasperation or anger; provoke. See Synonyms at annoy.


[Latin aggravāre, aggravāt- : ad-, ad- + gravāre, to burden (from gravis, heavy; see gwerə-1 in Indo-European roots).]
ag'gra·vat'ing·ly adv., ag'gra·va'tive adj., ag'gra·va'tor n.
Usage Note: Aggravate comes from the Latin verb aggravāre, which meant "to make heavier," that is, "to add to the weight of." It also had the extended senses "to annoy" and "to oppress." Some people claim that aggravate can only mean "to make worse," and not "to irritate," on the basis of the word's etymology. But in doing so, they ignore not only an English sense in use since the 17th century, but also one of the original Latin ones. Sixty-eight percent of the Usage Panel approves of its use in It's the endless wait for luggage that aggravates me the most about air travel.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: ag·gra·vate
Pronunciation: 'a-gr&-"vAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -vat·ed; -vat·ing
: to make more serious, more severe, or worse aggravated the offense> <aggravated her preexisting condition> <aggravating factors> —compare MITIGATE —ag·gra·va·tion /"a-gr&-'vA-sh&n/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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