aggravating

adjective

ag·​gra·​vat·​ing ˈa-grə-ˌvā-tiŋ 

1

informal : arousing displeasure, impatience, or anger

an aggravating habit

2

: increasing the seriousness of (a crime)

aggravating circumstances like recklessness

Usage of Aggravate, Aggravated, Aggravating, and Aggravation

Aggravate can mean both "to make worse or more serious" and "to make angry or irritated especially by bothering again and again," but writers for most of the 20th century were advised against the latter, and this meaning is still not encountered frequently in formal contexts. Likewise, the meanings of aggravated, aggravating, and aggravation that relate to anger or irritation are most at home in informal use.

Synonyms of aggravating

• annoying
• frustrating
• irritating
• disturbing

Examples of aggravating in a Sentence

there's nothing so aggravating as a blaring car alarm that no one is paying any attention to

Recent Examples on the Web

Substantial evidence supports the trial court’s true finding on that aggravating factor. —Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 12 Nov. 2025

According to court filings, the state is seeking the death penalty for both men, citing multiple aggravating factors. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 6 Nov. 2025

Mears said the victim's age, 69, could be considered an aggravating factor and might lead to a tougher punishment if Sanchez is convicted. —David K. Li, NBC news, 6 Oct. 2025

Ants that love the nectar of peony blooms are a bit aggravating but harmless. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 5 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of aggravate

First Known Use

1673, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for aggravating

• abdicating
• abrogating
• activating
• actuating
• advocating
• aggregating
• agitating
• allocating
• alternating
• animating
• annotating
• antedating