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exasperate

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exasperate¹

  • /ɪɡˈzæsp(ə)ɹeɪt/ US, UK
  • /ɪɡˈzɑːspəɹeɪt/ UK, also

Rhymes with -æspəɹeɪt

Where it comes from

First attested in 1534; borrowed from Latin exasperātus, the perfect passive participle of Latin exasperō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ex (“out of; thoroughly”) + asperō (“to make rough”), from asper (“rough”). Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

verb exasperates · exasperating · exasperated

  1. transitive To tax the patience of; irk, frustrate, vex, provoke, annoy; to make angry. And this report Hath so exasperate [sic] the king that he Prepares for some attempt of war.

    Similar: aggravate, rile, annoy, nettle, rankle, ruffle, sting, burn someone's ass, antagonize, bother, disgruntle, botherate

adjective more exasperate · most exasperate

  1. obsolete, as a participle Exasperated. And this report Hath ſo exaſperate their King, that hee Prepares for ſome attempt of Warre.
  2. obsolete Exasperated; embittered. Thersites. Do I curse thee? Patroclus. Why no, you ruinous butt, you whoreson indistinguishable cur, no. Thersites. No! why art thou then exasperate, thou idle immaterial skein of sleave-silk […]

exasperate²

  • /ɪɡˈzæsp(ə)ɹeɪt/ US, UK
  • /ɪɡˈzɑːspəɹeɪt/ UK, also

Rhymes with -æspəɹeɪt

Where it comes from

A pun on the usual sense of exasperate (to annoy) and aspirate.

verb exasperates · exasperating · exasperated

  1. UK, humorous, obsolete, slang To overaspirate the letter h, or to aspirate it whenever it begins a word, once a common form of hypercorrection. quoted (from Punch magazine) in 2005, David Crystal, The Stories of English COCKNEY HOBSERVATION. — Cockneys are not the only people who drop or exasperate the 'h's.' It is done by common people in the provinces, and you may laugh at them for it.

Translations

Every language

verb frustrate, vex, annoy

Españolexasperar
日本語怒らせる okoraseru, いらいらさせる irairasaseru
中文激怒 jīnù, 惹火 rěhuǒ
Portuguêsexasperar
Françaisexaspérer
Deutschverärgern, aufbringen, auf die Palme bringen
Italianoesasperare
Ελληνικάεξοργίζω exorgízo
Русскийсерди́ть serdítʹ, раздража́ть razdražátʹ, возмущать vozmuščatʹ, изводи́ть izvodítʹ, беси́ть besítʹ, приводи́ть в я́рость privodítʹ v járostʹ

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX
@misc{exasperate_2026,
  title = {exasperate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/exasperate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}