aggravate

Although aggravate has been used to refer to rousing someone to anger since the 17th century, it has been the object of disapproval only since about 1870. It is used in expository prose

• • when his silly conceit … about his not-very-good early work has begun to aggravate us
  • —William Styron

but seems to be more common in speech and casual writing.

• • a good profession for him, because bus drivers get aggravated
  • —Jackie Gleason,  interview,  1986
• • & now this letter comes to aggravate me a thousand times worse
  • —Mark Twain,  letter,  1864

The "make worse" meaning is far more common in published prose than the "rouse to anger" meaning. Such is not the case, however, with aggravation and aggravating. Aggravation is used in the "irritation, provocation" sense somewhat more than in its earlier senses; aggravating has practically no use other than to express annoyance.