aggravating
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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.
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Adj. | 1. | aggravating - making worse intensifying - increasing in strength or intensity |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
aggravating
adjective
1. (Informal) annoying, provoking, irritating, teasing, galling, exasperating, vexing, irksome You don't realise how aggravating you can be.
2. worsening, exaggerating, intensifying, heightening, exacerbating, magnifying, inflaming Stress is a frequent aggravating factor.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
aggravating
[ˈægrəveɪtɪŋ] ADJ1. (Jur) → agravante
2. (= annoying) → molesto
he's an aggravating child → es un niño molesto
it's very aggravating → es para volverse loco
he's an aggravating child → es un niño molesto
it's very aggravating → es para volverse loco
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
aggravating
adj → ärgerlich, enervierend (geh); child → lästig, enervierend (geh); how aggravating for you → wie ärgerlich für Sie!
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