aggravate
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aggravate
- /ˈæɡ.ɹə.veɪ̯t/ US, UK
- /ˈæɡɹəvət/ US, UK
Where it comes from
The adjective is first attested in 1471 in Middle English, the verb in 1530; from Latin aggravātus, perfect passive participle of aggravō (“to add to the weight of, make worse, oppress, annoy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to”) + gravō (“to make heavy”), from gravis (“heavy”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See grave and compare aggrieve and aggrege. Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English. By surface analysis, ag- + grave (“heavy”) + -ate (“verb suffix”).
verb aggravates · aggravating · aggravated
-
To make (an offence) worse or more severe; to increase in offensiveness or heinousness.
Once more, the more to aggrauate the note,
With a foule Traitors name ſtuffe I thy throte,
And wiſh (ſo pleaſe my Soueraigne) ere I moue,
What my tong ſpeaks, my right drawn ſword may proue
Similar: add insult to injury, twist the knife, add fuel to the fire, cap it all off, fan the flames, make matters worse, throw gasoline on the fire, With malice, hit someone when they are down, kick a dog when it's down, kick someone when they are down, punch down · Opposite: pour oil on troubled waters, alleviate
-
To make (any bad thing) worse.
to aggravate my woes.
Similar: exacerbate · Opposite: alleviate, mitigate
-
To give extra weight or intensity to; to exaggerate, to magnify.
He aggravated the story.
Similar: heighten, intensify, increase, magnify, accelerate, accrue, aggrandize, augment, embiggen, enhance, enlarge, greaten
- To pile or heap (something heavy or onerous) on or upon someone. In order to lighten the crown still further, they aggravated responsibility on ministers of state.
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To exasperate; to provoke or irritate.
If both were to aggravate her parents, as my brother and sister do mine.
Similar: provoke, irritate, exasperate, aggravate, annoy, nettle, rankle, ruffle, sting, burn someone's ass, antagonize, bother
Similar: adulterate, aggravate, alloy, canker, contaminate, corrupt, debase, debauch, defile, deflower, degrade, deteriorate, downgrade, envenom, exasperate, exacerbate, infect, impair, leaven, pejorate, set back, stain, sophisticate, uplift, vitiate, weaken · Opposite: ameliorate, improve, mitigate, repair, restore
adjective more aggravate · most aggravate
- Aggravated.
- Loaded, burdened, weighed down.
- Heightened, intensified.
- Under ecclesiastical censure, excommunicated.
Thesaurus
verb
Similar: adulterate, aggravate, alloy, canker, contaminate, corrupt, debase, debauch, defile, deflower, degrade, deteriorate, downgrade, envenom, exasperate, exacerbate, infect, impair, leaven, pejorate, set back, stain, sophisticate, uplift, vitiate, weaken · Opposite: ameliorate, improve, mitigate, repair, restore
Translations
Every language
verb To make worse, or more severe
| Español | agravar, empeorar |
|---|---|
| Português | agravar |
| Français | aggraver |
| Deutsch | verschlimmern, erschweren |
| Русский | обостря́ть obostrjátʹ, обостри́ть obostrítʹ, усугубля́ть usugubljátʹ, усугуби́ть usugubítʹ, отягощать otjagoščatʹ, ухудшать uxudšatʹ |
verb To give coloring to in description; to exaggerate; as, to aggravate circumstances
| Русский | усложня́ть usložnjátʹ |
|---|
Talk about this word "aggravate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/aggravate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. aggravate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/aggravate "aggravate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/aggravate.Cite this
@misc{aggravate_2026,
title = {aggravate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/aggravate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
