aggravating

adjective

ag·​gra·​vat·​ing ˈa-grə-ˌvā-tiŋ 

: arousing displeasure, impatience, or anger

an aggravating habit

Common Uses of Aggravate, Aggravation, and Aggravating: Usage Guide

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.

Synonyms

• 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

Juries later convicted Crawford in both cases, with the earlier rape conviction serving as an aggravating factor during his capital murder trial. —Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 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

Murder of a law enforcement officer is considered to be an aggravating factor. —Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of aggravate

First Known Use

1673, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for aggravating

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