aggravate

  • verb 1 make worse. 2 informal annoy or exasperate.

  — DERIVATIVES aggravating adjective aggravation noun.

  — USAGE Aggravate in the sense ‘annoy or exasperate’ is in widespread use in modern English and dates back to the 17th century, but the use is still regarded as incorrect by some traditionalists.

  — ORIGIN Latin aggravare ‘make heavy’.

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