aggravate
pronunciation
How to pronounce aggravate in British English:
UK [ˈæɡrəveɪt]
How to pronounce aggravate in American English:
US [ˈæɡrəveɪt]
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- Verb:
- make worse
- exasperate or irritate
Word Origin
- aggravate
- aggravate: [16] Aggravate originally meant literally ‘to weigh down’ or ‘to make heavier’ (it was modelled on Latin aggravare ‘to make heavier’, which in turn was based on gravis ‘heavy’, source of English gravity and grief; its first cousin is aggrieve [13], which came via Old French agrever). From the first it was generally used in a metaphorical sense, and by the end of the 16th century the meaning ‘to make worse’ was well established. The sense ‘to annoy’, which some purists still object to, dates from at least the early 17th century.=> grave, gravity, grief
- aggravate (v.)
- 1520s, "make heavy, burden down," from past participle adjective aggravate "burdened; threatened" (late 15c.), from Latin aggravatus, past participle of aggravare "to render more troublesome," literally "to make heavy" (see aggravation). Earlier in this sense was aggrege (late 14c.). Meaning "to make a bad thing worse" is from 1590s; that of "exasperate, annoy" is from 1610s. To aggravate has properly only one meaning -- to make (an evil) worse or more serious. [Fowler] Related: Aggravated; aggravating. Phrase aggravating circumstances is recorded from 1790.
Example
- 1. This might irritate your bladder and aggravate your condition .
- 2. Other environmental factors probably play a role : for instance , cigarette smoking has recently been shown to aggravate allergies .
- 3. Stress can aggravate some of your pms symptoms .
- 4. If you manage to aggravate someone accidentally , or even if you suspect that you might have , make sure you apologise .
- 5. One reason is that cuts aggravate recession .