exasperating

adjective

ex·​as·​per·​at·​ing ig-ˈza-spə-ˌrā-tiŋ 

: causing strong feelings of irritation or annoyance

an exasperating delay

After the most frustrating, aggravating and exasperating two days of his career …

—Jack Curry

The following days brought light fluky winds and I made only 35 miles of progress in two days. It was very exasperating.

—Tom Peterson

exasperatingly adverb

an exasperatingly slow process

The heater warmed up slowly; its temperature was exasperatingly difficult to adjust.

—Consumer Reports

Synonyms of exasperating

• frustrating
• annoying
• irritating
• disturbing

Examples of exasperating in a Sentence

those exasperating details that come with almost any job

Recent Examples on the Web

With the Angels, Mozeliak not only must overcome a losing culture, but also navigate a relationship with Moreno, a challenge his predecessors found exasperating. — Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 30 June 2026

What followed was often exhilarating and, from around season three onward, often just as exasperating. — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 25 June 2026

After several exasperating Zillow searches through Portland, Oregon’s increasingly expensive housing market, Gaby Colón and Daniel Quebral scrapped their plans for a traditional home and embraced the open road, buying a 315-square-foot home on wheels. — Jackie Cooperman, Architectural Digest, 16 June 2026

The irony is that many people relish using AI due to the fact that the AI seems to be more attentive, more patient, and less exasperating than talking to a fellow human. — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 21 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1592, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for exasperating

• accelerating
• accentuating
• accommodating
• accumulating
• adjudicating
• administrating
• affiliating
• agglutinating
• alienating
• alleviating
• amalgamating
• ameliorating