aggravate

C2+ Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˈæɡrəˌveɪt/ UK /ˈæɡrəveɪt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make a problem worse, or to annoy someone

Scratching the rash will only aggravate it.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make a problem worse, or... worsen exacerbate intensify compound annoy irritate exasperate provoke

Opposites

alleviate ease mitigate relieve soothe ameliorate

Word family

Derived forms aggravationaggravatingaggravator

Related forms grave gravity grievance

Etymology

From Latin aggravatus, past participle of aggravare ('to make heavier, burden'), from ad ('to') + gravare ('to weigh down'), from gravis ('heavy').

aggravare Latin gravis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# aggravate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈæɡrəˌveɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈæɡrəveɪt/

## Meanings
1. to make a problem worse, or to annoy someone

## Examples
- Scratching the rash will only aggravate it.

## Synonyms
- worsen
- exacerbate
- intensify
- compound
- annoy
- irritate
- exasperate
- provoke

## Antonyms
- alleviate
- ease
- mitigate
- relieve
- soothe
- ameliorate

## Derived Forms
- aggravation
- aggravating
- aggravator

## Related Forms
- grave
- gravity
- grievance

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: aggravare
- Root: gravis

## Etymology
From Latin aggravatus, past participle of aggravare ('to make heavier, burden'), from ad ('to') + gravare ('to weigh down'), from gravis ('heavy').

## AI Etymology
Aggravate is from Latin aggravatus, past participle of aggravare ('to make heavier, burden'), from ad ('to') + gravare ('to weigh down'), from gravis ('heavy'). In present-day use, it means to make a problem worse, or to annoy someone. Derived formations include aggravation, aggravating, and aggravator. Related vocabulary includes grave, gravity, and grievance.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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