exacerbate

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exacerbate

/ɪɡˈzæsɚˌbeɪt/ US
/ɪɡˈzæsəˌbeɪt/ UK
/ɪkˈsæs-/ UK

Where it comes from

First attested in 1660; borrowed from Latin exacerbātus, perfect passive participle of Latin exacerbō (“to provoke”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ex- (“out of; thoroughly”) + acerbō (“to embitter, harshen or worsen”).

verb exacerbates · exacerbating · exacerbated

transitive To make worse (a problem, bad situation, negative feeling, etc.). Near-synonym: worsen
Similar: aggravate, worsen

Translations

Every language

verb make worse

Español	exacerbar, agravar, empeorar
日本語	悪化させる akka saseru
中文	使惡化 /使恶化 shǐ èhuà, 加劇 /加剧 jiājù, 加重 jiāzhòng
Português	exacerbar
Français	exacerber, aggraver, empirer
Deutsch	verschlimmern, verschärfen, verschlechtern, schlimmer machen
Italiano	esacerbare
Русский	ухудша́ть uxudšátʹ, уху́дшить uxúdšitʹ, усугубля́ть usugubljátʹ, усугуби́ть usugubítʹ

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MLA

"exacerbate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/exacerbate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

exacerbate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/exacerbate

Chicago

"exacerbate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/exacerbate.

BibTeX

@misc{exacerbate_2026,
  title = {exacerbate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/exacerbate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}