The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
exacerbate — I verb aggravate, arouse, augment, deteriorate, enrage, exacerbare, excite, heighten, incense, incite, increase, inflame, infuriate, intensify, irritate, make more severe, make worse, provoke, render worse, worsen II index compound, distress,… … Law dictionary
exacerbate — 1650s, a back formation from exacerbation or else from L. exacerbatus, pp. of exacerbare (see EXACERBATION (Cf. exacerbation)). Related: Exacerbated; exacerbating … Etymology dictionary
exacerbate — [v] infuriate; make worse add insult to injury*, aggravate, annoy, egg on*, embitter, enrage, envenom, exasperate, excite, fan the flames*, feed the fire*, go from bad to worse*, heat up*, heighten, hit on*, increase, inflame, intensify, irritate … New thesaurus
exacerbate — ► VERB ▪ make (something bad) worse. DERIVATIVES exacerbation noun. ORIGIN Latin exacerbare make harsh … English terms dictionary
exacerbate — [eg zas′ər bāt΄, igzas′ər bāt΄] vt. exacerbated, exacerbating [< L exacerbatus, pp. of exacerbare, to exasperate, make angry < ex , intens. + acerbus, bitter: see ACERBITY] 1. to make more intense or sharp; aggravate (disease, pain,… … English World dictionary
exacerbate — UK [ɪɡˈzæsə(r)beɪt] / US [ɪɡˈzæsərˌbeɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms exacerbate : present tense I/you/we/they exacerbate he/she/it exacerbates present participle exacerbating past tense exacerbated past participle exacerbated formal to make a… … English dictionary
exacerbate — transitive verb ( bated; bating) Etymology: Latin exacerbatus, past participle of exacerbare, from ex + acerbus harsh, bitter, from acer sharp more at edge Date: 1660 to make more violent, bitter, or severe < the proposed shutdown…would… … New Collegiate Dictionary
exacerbate — verb a) To irritate. The proposed shutdown would exacerbate unemployment problems. b) To make (pain, anger, etc.) worse; aggravate … Wiktionary
exacerbate — verb Exacerbate is used with these nouns as the object: ↑anxiety, ↑condition, ↑crisis, ↑division, ↑effect, ↑imbalance, ↑injury, ↑pain, ↑problem, ↑shortage, ↑situation, ↑ … Collocations dictionary
exacerbate — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. aggravate, intensify, worsen; enrage, embitter, irritate, vex. See increase, resentment. II (Roget s IV) v. 1. [To aggravate] Syn. worsen, heighten, intensify, add fuel to the flames*; see increase 1 … English dictionary for students
