aggravate — ag·gra·vate / a grə ˌvāt/ vt vat·ed, vat·ing: to make more serious, more severe, or worse maliciousness aggravated the offense aggravated her preexisting condition aggravating factors compare … Law dictionary
aggravate — (v.) 1520s, make heavy, burden down, from pp. adjective aggravate burdened; threatened (late 15c.), from L. aggravatus, pp. of aggravare to render more troublesome, lit. to make heavy (see AGGRAVATION (Cf. aggravation)). Earlier in this sense was … Etymology dictionary
aggravate — The meaning ‘to annoy or exasperate’ has existed in good sources since the early 17c; despite this, Fowler (1926) recommended that it ‘should be left to the uneducated’. The dominance of the current sense has not put paid to the original meaning … Modern English usage
aggravate — [v1] annoy be at*, be on the back of*, bother, bug, bum*, dog, drive up the wall*, exasperate, gall, get, get on one’s nerves, get to, give a hard time, grate, hack, irk, irritate, nag, needle, nettle, peeve, pester, pick on, pique, provoke,… … New thesaurus
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… … English terms dictionary
aggravate — 1 heighten, *intensify, enhance Analogous words: magnify, aggrandize (see EXALT): augment, *increase, multiply, enlarge Antonyms: alleviate Contrasted words: lighten, mitigate, allay (see RELIEVE): *palliate, extenuate: lessen, reduce, diminish,… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
aggravate — [ag′rə vāt΄] vt. aggravated, aggravating [< L aggravatus, pp. of aggravare, to make heavier < ad , to + gravis, heavy: see GRAVE1] 1. to make worse; make more burdensome, troublesome, etc. 2. Informal to exasperate; annoy; vex SYN.… … English World dictionary
aggravate — verb 1) the new law could aggravate the situation Syn: worsen, make worse, exacerbate, inflame, compound; add fuel to the fire/flames, add insult to injury, rub salt in the wound Ant: alleviate, improve 2) informal you don … Thesaurus of popular words
aggravate — aggravative, adj. aggravator, n. /ag reuh vayt /, v.t., aggravated, aggravating. 1. to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome: to aggravate a grievance; to aggravate an illness. 2. to annoy; irritate;… … Universalium
aggravate — transitive verb ( vated; vating) Etymology: Latin aggravatus, past participle of aggravare to make heavier, from ad + gravare to burden, from gravis heavy more at grieve Date: 1530 1. obsolete a. to make heavy ; burden … New Collegiate Dictionary
