aggravate
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈæɡ.ɹə.veɪ̯t/
ipa: /ˈæɡɹəvət/
Forms: form: aggravates
form: aggravating
form: aggravated
form: aggravated
Etymology: The adjective is first attested in 1471 in Middle English, the verb in 1530; from Latin aggravātus, perfect passive participle of aggravō (“to add to the weight of, make worse, oppress, annoy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to”) + gravō (“to make heavy”), from gravis (“heavy”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See grave and compare aggrieve and aggrege. Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
Senses: examples: text: Once more, the more to aggrauate the note,
With a foule Traitors name ſtuffe I thy throte,
And wiſh (ſo pleaſe my Soueraigne) ere I moue,
What my tong ſpeaks, my right drawn ſword may proue
ref: 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 23, column 2:
text: The defense made by the prisoner's counsel did rather aggravate than extenuate his crime.
ref: 1709, Joseph Addison, The Tatler:
synonyms: word: add insult to injury
word: twist the knife
word: add fuel to the fire
word: add insult to injury
word: cap it all off
word: fan the flames
word: make matters worse
word: throw gasoline on the fire
word: With malice
word: hit someone when they are down
word: kick a dog when it's down
word: kick someone when they are down
word: punch down
word: put the boot in
word: rub it in
word: rub salt in the wound
word: strike someone when they are down
word: twist the knife
antonyms: pour oil on troubled waters
alleviate
glosses: To make (an offence) worse or more severe; to increase in offensiveness or heinousness.
examples: text: to aggravate my woes.
ref: 1726, Homer, “Book XVI”, in [William Broome], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume IV, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
text: […] to aggravate the horrors of the scene
ref: 1837, William H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic:
synonyms: exacerbate
antonyms: alleviate
mitigate
glosses: To make (any bad thing) worse.
examples: text: He aggravated the story.
synonyms: word: heighten
word: intensify
word: increase
word: magnify
word: augment
word: grow
word: increase
word: propagate
word: rise
word: wind up
glosses: To give extra weight or intensity to; to exaggerate, to magnify.
examples: text: In order to lighten the crown still further, they aggravated responsibility on ministers of state.
ref: 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, Oxford, published 2009, page 28:
synonyms: dogpile
heap on
pile on
glosses: To pile or heap (something heavy or onerous) on or upon someone.
examples: text: If both were to aggravate her parents, as my brother and sister do mine.
ref: 1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC:
text: Ben Bella was aggravated by having to express himself in French because the Egyptians were unable to understand his Arabic.
ref: 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 85:
synonyms: word: provoke
word: irritate
word: exasperate
word: aggravate
word: annoy
word: rankle
word: ruffle
word: sting
word: antagonize
word: bother
word: disgruntle
word: botherate
word: bug
word: get
word: grate
word: burn up
word: bedevil
word: cheese off
word: devil
word: exasperate
word: frustrate
word: get up
word: grotch
word: hack off
word: hassle
word: irk
word: irritate
word: jazz
word: molest
word: mommick
word: nark
word: nerve
word: pee off
word: peeve
word: persecute
word: pique
word: piss off
word: provoke
word: rile
word: rile up
word: roil
word: storm
word: test someone's patience
word: tick off
word: trouble
word: try one's patience
word: vex
word: wind up
word: Idioms:
word: boil someone's piss
word: chap someone's hide
word: get on someone's nerves
word: get on someone's tits
word: get on someone's wick
word: get someone's back up
word: get someone's dander up
word: get someone's goat
word: get someone's Irish up
word: get someone's nanny
word: get someone's nanny-goat
word: get under one's goat
word: get under someone's skin
word: give someone the shits
word: grind one's gears
word: harsh one's mellow
word: put someone's back up
word: raise someone's hackles
word: rub someone the wrong way
word: rub up the wrong way
word: ruffle someone's feathers
word: tee off
word: torque off
glosses: To exasperate; to provoke or irritate.
Synonyms: word: adulterate
word: aggravate
word: alloy
word: canker
word: contaminate
word: corrupt
word: debase
word: debauch
word: defile
word: deflower
word: degrade
word: deteriorate
word: envenom
word: exasperate
word: exacerbate
word: infect
word: impair
word: leaven
word: pejorate
word: set back
word: stain
word: sophisticate
word: vitiate
word: weaken
Derived terms: aggravatable
aggravative
aggravator
aggro
overaggravate
reaggravate
Related terms: word: aggravation
word: worsen
word: make matters worse