1
as in annoys
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
it really aggravates me when I arrive 10 minutes before the stated closing time, and the store's closed already
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deepens
to make more severe
overheated rhetoric that only aggravated an already tense situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of aggravates
In the extreme off-chance that Darnold doesn’t play or aggravates the injury, the Seahawks would call upon Drew Lock, who has just three regular season passing attempts on the year.
—
Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Nathan tells him to get in the water in order to fix the hooks and ropes, but Max stands on the Jet Ski instead, which aggravates the bosun.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
Money could be at the heart of the power struggle when Mars aggravates Pluto.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
The minuscule particles can lead to breathing problems like bronchitis and cause inflammation that aggravates diabetes, heart disease and other health conditions.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2025
Climate change exacerbates chronic and contagious disease, worsens food and water shortages, increases the risk of pandemics, and aggravates mass displacement.
—Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2019
Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Nathan tells him to get in the water in order to fix the hooks and ropes, but Max stands on the Jet Ski instead, which aggravates the bosun.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 6 Jan. 2026
Money could be at the heart of the power struggle when Mars aggravates Pluto.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
The minuscule particles can lead to breathing problems like bronchitis and cause inflammation that aggravates diabetes, heart disease and other health conditions.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2025
Climate change exacerbates chronic and contagious disease, worsens food and water shortages, increases the risk of pandemics, and aggravates mass displacement.
—Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aggravates
Verb
-
One of its two young sibling protagonists, Amber (Bianca Belle), channels her feelings about the recent death of her mother into drawings of creatures born out of her troubled imagination, some of whom enact violence against the classmate who annoys her.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
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There's just one thing about Claire Danes that annoys Matthew Rhys.—
Yamillah Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
22 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Activist groups report over 6,200 deaths, while Iran’s currency continues plummeting to historic lows as the economic crisis deepens.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Tuning out may feel easier — but silence only deepens the divide.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
People don’t think this bothers me.—
Safiyah Riddle,
Fortune,
26 Jan. 2026
-
At one point, Bryan Freedman, an attorney for Baldoni and the Wayfarer Studios defendants, asked Lively if negative publicity bothers her.—
Benjamin VanHoose,
PEOPLE,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Some assistance comes from sportsbooks and casinos themselves, though this complicates certain priorities.—
Jasper Craven,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
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Whether that expertise strengthens or complicates monetary policy will depend less on his market savvy than on his ability to preserve the Fed’s institutional discipline and independence at a time of heightened scrutiny.—
Garth Friesen,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
There’s another distinctly New York habit that irritates Manville — at the end of the performances, theatergoers leap to their feat, not just to applaud, but to whip out their cellphones to record the curtain call.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Somehow, this irritates Helen even more.—
Sadia Shepard,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The rapid growth and use of AI tools, coupled with the lack of regulation, supercharges mis- and disinformation and greatly impacts efforts to address all these threats and exacerbates every other impending disaster, Holz said.—
Kristen Rogers,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
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When a community and its people fail to uphold this value, as the Satmar community and Weberman continue to do, that failure becomes a secondary betrayal of survivors that deepens and exacerbates their original trauma.—
Guila Benchimol,
New York Daily News,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The mom-to-be’s condition rapidly worsens, with Addison convincing Amelia — again reluctantly — to restore her privileges and scrub in.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2026
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The organization urges residents to step forward and help restore the local blood supply before the impact worsens.—
Steven Rosenbaum,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Aggravates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aggravates. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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