Definition of Aggravate

1. Verb. Make worse. "This drug aggravates the pain"

Exact synonyms: Exacerbate, Exasperate, Worsen
Specialized synonyms: Irritate, Inflame, Cheapen, Degrade
Generic synonyms: Alter, Change, Modify
Derivative terms: Aggravation, Exacerbation, Worsening
Antonyms: Better

2. Verb. Exasperate or irritate. "The bad news will aggravate him"
Exact synonyms: Exacerbate, Exasperate
Generic synonyms: Anger
Derivative terms: Aggravation, Aggravation, Aggravator, Exacerbation, Exasperation, Exasperation

Definition of Aggravate

1. v. t. To make heavy or heavier; to add to; to increase.

Definition of Aggravate

1. Verb. To make worse, or more severe; to render less tolerable or less excusable; to make more offensive; to enhance; to intensify. ¹

2. Verb. To give coloring to in description; to exaggerate; as, to '''aggravate''' circumstances. — William Paley. ¹

3. Verb. (context: formerly colloquial and proscribed) To exasperate; to provoke; to irritate. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Aggravate

1. [v -VATED, -VATING, -VATES]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Aggravate

aggrandizable
aggrandization
aggrandizations
aggrandize
aggrandized
aggrandizement
aggrandizements
aggrandizer
aggrandizers
aggrandizes
aggrandizing
aggrate
aggrated
aggrates
aggrating
aggravate (current term)
aggravated
aggravatedly
aggravates
aggravating
aggravatingly
aggravation
aggravations
aggravative
aggravatives
aggravator
aggrecan
aggrecanase
aggrecanases

Literary usage of Aggravate

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage by Inc. Merriam-Webster (1994)
"For other foreign plurals, see LATIN PLURALS. aggravate, aggravation, aggravating There is a body of opinion with a long tradition holding that aggravate ..."

2. The Anatomy of Melancholy: What it Is, with All the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes by Robert Burton (1836)
"... apt to mistake) and impatient of an injury in that kind ; they aggravate, and so meditate continually of it, that it is a perpetual corrosive, ..."

3. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences by Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (U.S.) (1884)
"... the proximity of the ground water to the surface of the earth renders the habitations damp, may predispose to phthisis, and aggravate other complaints. ..."

4. The Popular Science Monthly by Harry Houdini Collection (Library of Congress) (1884)
"... to become bandy-legged or knock-kneed, badly shaped shoes, especially if they have high heels, will aggravate the evU and make it more lasting. , Fio. ..."

5. A Cycle of Adams Letters, 1861-1865 by Charles Francis Adams, Henry Adams (1920)
"The fall of Vicksburg will not tend, I imagine, to aggravate your diplomatic troubles. HENRY ADAMS TO CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, JR. London, May 29, 1863 WELL! ..."

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