
[Latin aggravāre, aggravāt- : ad-, ad- + gravāre, to burden (from gravis, heavy).]
aggravatingly ag'gra·vat'ing·ly adv.USAGE NOTE Aggravate comes from the Latin verb aggravāre, which meant "to make heavier," that is, "to add to the weight of." It also had the extended senses "to annoy" and "to oppress." Some people claim that aggravate can only mean "to make worse," and not "to irritate," on the basis of the word's etymology. But in doing so, they ignore not only an English sense in use since the 17th century, but also one of the original Latin ones. Sixty-eight percent of the Usage Panel approves of its use in It's the endless wait for luggage that aggravates me the most about air travel.
These misfortunes were greatly aggravated by the policies of the English Government—Winston Churchill, 1958 / (later sense)
Do not aggravate them, be quiet, smile nicely—Peter Carey, 1982
Jane Fairfax aggravates her in all sorts of ways—T. Tanner, 1986.The later meaning has given rise to a common participial adjective aggravating (like annoying): e.g.
It was aggravating that he had to do so many little jobs himself—Mary Wesley, 1983.In law, aggravating factors or circumstances make an offence (such as aggravated assault) more serious and the word in this sense is therefore the opposite of mitigating.
| agenda, ageing, aged | |
| aggravation, aggression, aggressive |
verb
Definition: annoy
Antonyms: appease, gladden, make happy, mollify, soften
v
Definition: cause to become worse
Antonyms: alleviate, help, improve, relieve, soothe
There's nothing wrong with teenagers that reasoning with them won't aggravate.
— Quoted from www.zaadz.com
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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - skærpe
Nederlands (Dutch)
(ver)ergeren
Français (French)
v. tr. - aggraver, (faire) empirer, envenimer, augmenter (la douleur), exaspérer, agacer, taper sur les nerfs de (qn)
Deutsch (German)
v. - verschlimmern, ärgern, verschärfen
Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - επιδεινώνω, επιβαρύνω, εκνευρίζω, εξοργίζω
Italiano (Italian)
aggravare, infastidire, irritare, complicare, indispettire, esacerbare
Português (Portuguese)
v. - agravar, piorar, importunar (coloq.)
Русский (Russian)
ухудшать, раздражать, осложнять, сердить, усиливать
Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - agravar, empeorar, irritar, complicar, enojar, fastidiar, agudizar, exacerbar
Svenska (Swedish)
v. - försvåra, förvärra
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
加重, 使恶化, 增剧, 激怒
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 加重, 使惡化, 增劇, 激怒
한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 더욱 악화시키다, 화나게 하다
日本語 (Japanese)
v. - さらに悪化させる, 怒らせる, 悪化させる, 悩ます
العربيه (Arabic)
(فعل) يفاقم : يجعل ألأمر أسوأ, يثير, يغضب
עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - החמיר, הרגיז, הציק, החריף, קלקל, הרע
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