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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deepens
to make more severe
overheated rhetoric that only aggravated an already tense situation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of aggravates
Mercury aggravates Jupiter, intensifying your vulnerability in creative or romantic situations.
—
Usa Today, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2026
Flood conditions in Northern Lower Michigan have become increasingly dire in recent days, as heavy rainfall aggravates the winter snowmelt in the region.
—Terrance Friday, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026
Smoke from wildfires penetrates deep into the lungs and aggravates respiratory disease more than any other type of pollution.
—Becky Upham, EverydayHealth.com, 4 Mar. 2026
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
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
Usa Today, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2026
Flood conditions in Northern Lower Michigan have become increasingly dire in recent days, as heavy rainfall aggravates the winter snowmelt in the region.
—Terrance Friday, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026
Smoke from wildfires penetrates deep into the lungs and aggravates respiratory disease more than any other type of pollution.
—Becky Upham, EverydayHealth.com, 4 Mar. 2026
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
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
-
Just the idea of him annoys me.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 May 2026
-
Still, what really annoys Daisy is that Ellie doesn’t seem to respect her rank.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
OpenAI deepens Amazon ties watch now Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
4 June 2026
-
Pelley’s exit deepens the turmoil at the leading newsmagazine, where several employees have clashed with CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss over the show’s editorial direction under its new corporate owner, Paramount Skydance, the company run by technology scion David Ellison.—
Kaylah Jackson,
NBC news,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Shields added at the time that she's learned to speak up when something bothers her rather than assuming her spouse can read her mind.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
27 May 2026
-
The programmer's rhythm is broken repeatedly, and the cumulative delay between intent and result is longer than anyone bothers to measure.—
Russ Bukowski,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Levinson’s structural lens complicates this in an important way.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
2 June 2026
-
Downstream lithography and ion implantation steps are also more demanding than for silicon, partly because SiC’s hardness complicates polishing and etch uniformity.—
Aditya Jadhav,
Interesting Engineering,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Elsa’s inquisitive presence almost instantly irritates Amalia, as the latter refuses to simply acquiesce to her relentless quizzing.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
-
The impish half-smile that irritates opponents eventually returns to his face, though.—
Chris Smith,
Vanity Fair,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
The backlog of transformers exacerbates this situation.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
-
Artists can be complicated, selfish people, and substance abuse exacerbates these traits for many of them.—
Luis Parrales,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
Verb
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China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Global economic outlook worsens over Iran war The US and Iran appeared still willing to reach a peace deal despite American strikes and Tehran’s threats of reprisals — but the global economic fallout from the conflict deepened.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
29 May 2026
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When oil prices rise because of a supply disruption, as happened in 1973 and 1979, the economy worsens.—
Bill Conerly,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Aggravates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aggravates. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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