aggravate
[ ag-ruh-veyt ]
verb (used with object),ag·gra·vat·ed, ag·gra·vat·ing.
to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome: to aggravate a grievance; to aggravate an illness.
to annoy; irritate; exasperate: His questions aggravate her.
to cause to become irritated or inflamed: The child's constant scratching aggravated the rash.
Origin of aggravate
1synonym study For aggravate
1. 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.
usage note For aggravate
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.
Other words for aggravate
Opposites for aggravate
Other words from aggravate
- ag·gra·va·tive, adjective
- ag·gra·va·tor, noun
- o·ver·ag·gra·vate, verb (used with object), o·ver·ag·gra·vat·ed, o·ver·ag·gra·vat·ing.
- pre·ag·gra·vate, verb (used with object), pre·ag·gra·vat·ed, pre·ag·gra·vat·ing.
- re·ag·gra·vate, verb (used with object), re·ag·gra·vat·ed, re·ag·gra·vat·ing.
Words that may be confused with aggravate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for aggravate
aggravate
/ (ˈæɡrəˌveɪt) /
verb(tr)
to make (a disease, situation, problem, etc) worse or more severe
informal to annoy; exasperate, esp by deliberate and persistent goading
Origin of aggravate
1C16: from Latin aggravāre to make heavier, from gravis heavy
Derived forms of aggravate
- aggravating, adjective
- aggravation, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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