aggravation

noun

ag·​gra·​va·​tion ˌa-grə-ˈvā-shən 

1

: an act or circumstance that intensifies something or makes something worse

His interference was an aggravation of the situation.

2

: the act, action, or result of aggravating something or someone

especially : an increasing in seriousness or severity

aggravation of an injury

3

: irritation, provocation

Her job involves a lot of stress and aggravation.

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

• aggro [British]
• annoyance
• bother
• botheration
• bugbear
• exasperation
• frustration
• hair shirt
• hassle
• headache
• inconvenience
• irk
• irritant
• nuisance
• peeve
• pest
• rub
• ruffle
• thorn
• trial
• vexation

Examples of aggravation in a Sentence

trying to avoid the aggravation of an existing back problem

I don't need all this aggravation.

This car has caused me nothing but aggravation.

Many talented people now feel that a career in politics isn't worth all the aggravation.

I don't need all these aggravations.

Recent Examples on the Web

Take your time and do things right the first time, and save yourself aggravation. —Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 17 June 2024

Senga cited the risk of injury — pitching with bad mechanics could lead to further aggravation and his shoulder has long since healed from his early spring training injury. —Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 20 May 2024

Washington’s error was not to enlarge the alliance but to do so in a way that maximized Moscow’s aggravation. —M. E. Sarotte, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021

Hertz also gave him a free rental day and extra loyalty points to make up for his aggravation. —Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 8 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin aggravātiōn-, aggravātiō "a weighing down," from Latin aggravāre "to weigh down, aggravate" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

First Known Use

1546, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

aggravation

noun

ag·​gra·​va·​tion ˌag-rə-ˈvā-shən 

1

: the act or result of aggravating

2

: something that aggravates