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

Prosecutors have also signaled the case involves aggravating factors, including the scale of destruction and potential danger to others. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2026

This is even more aggravating given that the previous night, João tried and failed to break things off with her. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Apr. 2026

The league argued the commission had failed to treat this disclosure breach as an aggravating factor when handing out the points deduction. —Rob Tanner, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026

Jurors heard arguments from attorneys on the case after the verdicts were read to determine if aggravating factors apply at sentencing. —City News Service, Oc Register, 14 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