aggravate
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia.
aggravate
to make worse: The smoky room aggravated her asthma.; to annoy: Don’t aggravate the substitute teacher.
Not to be confused with:
irritate – exasperate; provoke; inflame or chafe: Her incessant chatter irritates me.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
ag·gra·vate
(ăg′rə-vāt′)tr.v. ag·gra·vat·ed, ag·gra·vat·ing, ag·gra·vates
1. To make worse or more troublesome: aggravate political tensions; aggravate a medical condition.
2. To annoy or exasperate: The child's whining aggravated me. See Synonyms at annoy.
[Latin aggravāre, aggravāt- : ad-, ad- + gravāre, to burden (from gravis, heavy; see gwerə- 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 burden" or "to oppress." On the basis of this etymology, it is claimed by some that aggravate should not be used to mean "to irritate, annoy, rouse to anger." But such senses for the word date back to the 17th century and are pervasive. In our 2005 survey, 83 percent of the Usage Panel accepted this usage in the sentence: It's the endless wait for luggage that aggravates me the most about air travel. This was a significant increase from the 68 percent who accepted the same sentence in 1988.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
aggravate
(ˈæɡrəˌveɪt)vb (tr)
1. to make (a disease, situation, problem, etc) worse or more severe
2. informal to annoy; exasperate, esp by deliberate and persistent goading
[C16: from Latin aggravāre to make heavier, from gravis heavy]
ˈaggraˌvating adj
ˈaggravatingly adv
ˌaggraˈvation n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ag•gra•vate
(ˈæg rəˌveɪt)v.t. -vat•ed, -vat•ing.
1. to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome.
2. to annoy; irritate; exasperate.
3. to cause to become irritated or inflamed.
[1425–75; late Middle English < Latin aggravātus, past participle of aggravāre to weigh down, make worse]
ag′gra•va`tor, n.
usage: The two most common senses of the verb aggravate are “to make worse” and “to annoy, exasperate.” Both senses, and the corresponding senses of the noun aggravation, appeared in the early 17th century at almost the same time and have been standard since then. The noun and verb senses “to annoy” and “annoyance” are sometimes objected to, and used somewhat less frequently than “to make worse” in formal speech and writing.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
aggravate
Past participle: aggravated
Gerund: aggravating
| Imperative |
|---|
| aggravate |
| aggravate |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Verb | 1. |  aggravate - make worse; "This drug aggravates the pain"irritate - excite to an abnormal condition, or chafe or inflame; "Aspirin irritates my stomach" inflame - cause inflammation in; "The repetitive motion inflamed her joint" |
| 2. |  aggravate - exasperate or irritate anger - make angry; "The news angered him" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
aggravate
verb
1. make worse, exaggerate, intensify, worsen, heighten, exacerbate, magnify, inflame, increase, add insult to injury, fan the flames of Stress and lack of sleep can aggravate the situation.
make worse improve, ease, calm, smooth, diminish, lessen, alleviate, mitigate, assuage
make worse improve, ease, calm, smooth, diminish, lessen, alleviate, mitigate, assuage
2. (Informal) annoy, bother, provoke, needle (informal), irritate, tease, hassle (informal), gall, exasperate, nettle, pester, vex, irk, get under your skin (informal), get on your nerves (informal), nark (Brit., Austral., & N.Z. slang), get up your nose (informal), be on your back (slang), piss you off (taboo slang), rub (someone) up the wrong way (informal), get in your hair (informal), get on your wick (Brit. slang) What aggravates you most about this country?
annoy please, calm, assuage, pacify
annoy please, calm, assuage, pacify
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
aggravate
verbThe American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَزِيد المَوْقِف سُوء أو خُطُورَةيُغِيظ، يُثِير سَخْطَاً
rozčílitrozlobitzhoršit
ærgreforværreirritere
súlyosbít
ergjagera verra
bloginimasblogintipabloginimaspablogintipykinimas
pasliktinātsakaitinātsaniknot
zhoršiť
ağırlaştırmakkızdırmakkötüleştirmek
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
aggravate
vt
(= make worse) → verschlimmern
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
aggravate
(ˈӕgrəveit) verb1. to make worse. His bad temper aggravated the situation.
2. to make (someone) angry or impatient. She was aggravated by the constant questions.
ˌaggraˈvation nounKernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
aggravate
vt. agravar, empeorar, irritar.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
aggravate
vt agravar, empeorarEnglish-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.