verb
aggravate
AG-ruh-vayt
verb
1
To make a bad situation, problem, or injury worse.
"Stress can aggravate an existing health condition."
"His comments only aggravated the dispute."
2
To annoy or irritate someone.
"Her constant tapping aggravated everyone in the office."
"It aggravates me when people are late."
How to Use Aggravate
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo make something worse, or to annoy someone.
Common mistake
In careful formal writing, "aggravate" traditionally means "make worse" (a situation), not "annoy" (a person) — though the "annoy" sense is now extremely common in everyday speech.
Common pairings
aggravate a condition
aggravate an injury
aggravate the situation
Word Forms
more aggravate comparative, aggravated past tense, aggravates singular, most aggravate superlative
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Stress can _____ an existing health condition.
Etymology
From Latin aggravare ("to make heavier"), from ad- ("to") + gravare ("to weigh down"), from gravis ("heavy") — the same root as "grave" and "gravity."