AGGRAVATE

worsen, aggravate, exacerbate, exasperate

(verb) make worse; “This drug aggravates the pain”

exacerbate, exasperate, aggravate

(verb) exasperate or irritate

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Verb

aggravate (third-person singular simple present aggravates, present participle aggravating, simple past and past participle aggravated)

To make (an offence) worse or more severe; to increase in offensiveness or heinousness. [from 16th c.]

(by extension) To make worse; to exacerbate. [from 16th c.]

(now, rare) To give extra weight or intensity to; to exaggerate, to magnify. [from 16th c.]

(obsolete) To pile or heap (something heavy or onerous) on or upon someone. [16th–18th c.]

(now, chiefly, colloquial) To exasperate; to provoke or irritate. [from 16th c.]

Usage notes

Although the meaning "to exasperate, to annoy" has been in continuous usage since the 16th century, a large number of usage mavens have contested it since the 1870s. Opinions have swayed from this proscription since 1965, but it still garners disapproval in Garner's Modern American Usage (2009), at least for formal writing.

Synonyms

• (to make worse): heighten, intensify, increase, magnify, exaggerate, exacerbate

• (to exasperate): provoke, irritate, exasperate

• See also annoy

Antonyms

• (to make worse): alleviate, mitigate

Source: Wiktionary

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Ag"gra*vate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Aggravated; p. pr. & vb. n. Aggravating.] Etym: [L. aggravatus, p. p. of aggravare. See Aggrieve.]

1. To make heavy or heavier; to add to; to increase. [Obs.] "To aggravate thy store." Shak.

2. To make worse, or more severe; to render less tolerable or less excusable; to make more offensive; to enhance; to intensify. "To aggravate my woes." Pope. To aggravate the horrors of the scene. Prescott. The defense made by the prisioner's counsel did rather aggravate than extenuate his crime. Addison.

3. To give coloring to in description; to exaggerate; as, to aggravate circumstances. Paley.

4. To exasperate; to provoke; to irritate. [Colloq.] If both were to aggravate her parents, as my brother and sister do mine. Richardson (Clarissa).

Syn.

– To heighten; intensify; increase; magnify; exaggerate; provoke; irritate; exasperate.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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