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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·ac·er·bate

Audio Help [ig-zas-er-beyt, ek-sas-] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object), -bat·ed, -bat·ing.

1.	to increase the severity, bitterness, or violence of (disease, ill feeling, etc.); aggravate.

2.	to embitter the feelings of (a person); irritate; exasperate.

[Origin: 1650–60; < L exacerbātus (ptp. of exacerbāre to exasperate, provoke), equiv. to ex- ex-¹ + acerbātus acerbate

]

—Related forms

ex·ac·er·bat·ing·ly, adverb

ex·ac·er·ba·tion, noun

—Synonyms 1. intensify, inflame, worsen.

—Antonyms 1. relieve, soothe, alleviate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
exacerbate

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·ac·er·bate Audio Help (ĭg-zās'ər-bāt') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. ex·ac·er·bat·ed, ex·ac·er·bat·ing, ex·ac·er·bates
To increase the severity, violence, or bitterness of; aggravate: a speech that exacerbated racial tensions; a heavy rainfall that exacerbated the flood problems.

[Latin exacerbāre, exacerbāt- : ex-, intensive pref.; see ex- + acerbāre, to make harsh (from acerbus, harsh; see ak- in Indo-European roots).]

ex·ac'er·ba'tion n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

exacerbate
verb
1.	make worse; "This drug aggravates the pain" [syn: worsen] [ant: ameliorate]
2.	exasperate or irritate

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Main Entry: ex·ac·er·bate
Pronunciation: ig-'zas-&r-"bAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -bat·ed; -bat·ing
: to cause (a disease or its symptoms) to become more severe <her condition was exacerbated by lack of care> —ex·ac·er·ba·tion /-"zas-&r-'bA-sh&n/ noun

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Exacerbate

Ex*ac"er*bate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Exacerrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Exacerrating.] [L. exacerbatus, p. p. of exacerbare; ex out (intens.) + acerbare. See Acerbate.] To render more violent or bitter; to irriate; to exasperate; to imbitter, as passions or disease. --Broughman.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day Archive - Cite This Source - Share This

exacerbate

exacerbate was Word of the Day on October 3, 1999.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

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