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

Court records show the aggravating circumstances mean a criminal sentence would have to adhere to the upper bound of sentencing requirements. —Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 12 Mar. 2026

The whole thing is a dream, owed in large part to Hawke’s bitchy, aggravating, terrifyingly vulnerable performance. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026

Either way, for them, the work itself — slow, imperfect, occasionally aggravating, and deeply human — is the point. —Jasna Hodžić, Big Think, 10 Mar. 2026

Prosecutors have identified two aggravating factors that could make Lee eligible for the death penalty, Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp told the court. —Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026

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