Words / B2

AGR-uh-vayt/ˈæɡrəveɪt/

To aggravate is to make a problem, injury, or situation worse: aggravate the injury, aggravate tensions. Make worse is everyday; worsen is a close formal cousin. In informal British speech, aggravate can also mean annoy, but examiners and careful writers still prefer the “make worse” sense. Aggravation is the noun. Do not use aggravate as a stylish synonym for annoy in formal work, and do not confuse it with irritate (annoy) when you mean a medical flare-up.

Meaning

To make a problem, injury, or situation worse.

Examples

• “Lack of sleep aggravated his headache.”
• “Running on the sprain only aggravated the swelling.”
• “A late apology aggravated the row; silence would have been kinder for an hour.”

Good to know

Make a problem/injury worse. Everyday: make worse. Informal: annoy (avoid in formal work). Noun: aggravation. Contrast: irritate = annoy.

Near in meaning

worsen

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