AGGRAVATING

aggravating, exacerbating, exasperating

(adjective) making worse

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Verb

aggravating

present participle of aggravate

Source: Wiktionary


Ag"gra*va`ting, a.

1. Making worse or more heinous; as, aggravating circumstances.

2. Exasperating; provoking; irritating. [Colloq.] A thing at once ridiculous and aggravating. J. Ingelow.

AGGRAVATE

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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Word of the Day

15 May 2025

PARSIMONIOUS

(adjective) excessively unwilling to spend; ā€œparsimonious thrift relieved by few generous impulsesā€; ā€œlived in a most penurious manner--denying himself every indulgenceā€


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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