Synonyms of aggravating

aggravating 1 of 2

adjective

ˈa-grə-ˌvā-tiŋ 

as in annoying

causing annoyance

there's nothing so aggravating as a blaring car alarm that no one is paying any attention to

Synonyms & Similar Words

• annoying
• frustrating
• irritating
• disturbing
• exasperating
• maddening
• irksome
• vexing
• bothersome
• painful
• vexatious
• abrasive
• pesky
• nettlesome
• pestilential
• pestiferous
• galling
• nettling
• distractive
• infuriating
• pesty
• chafing
• plaguey
• rebarbative
• peeving
• troubling
• stressful
• troublesome
• rankling
• carking
• riling
• pestilent
• distressing
• burdensome
• discomforting
• biting
• upsetting
• displeasing
• mischievous
• disquieting
• importunate
• tiresome
• offensive
• enraging
• worrisome
• inconveniencing
• angering
• trying
• jarring
• importune
• thorny
• bratty
• grating
• brattish
• spiny
• jangling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• delightful
• pleasing

aggravating

2 of 2

verb

present participle of aggravate

1

as in irritating

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

• annoying
• irritating
• bothering
• bugging
• persecuting
• exasperating
• infuriating
• getting
• vexing
• irking
• eating
• worrying
• itching
• nettling
• grating
• angering
• griping
• galling
• chafing
• burning (up)
• riling
• spiting
• ruffling
• plaguing
• teasing
• frosting
• insulting
• peeving
• provoking
• getting to
• narking
• rasping
• hacking (off)
• piquing
• wearing on
• putting out
• upsetting
• harassing
• enraging
• nagging
• rubbing the wrong way
• offending
• getting on one's nerves
• sticking in one's craw
• hassling
• maddening
• unsettling
• setting one's teeth on edge
• getting one's goat
• distressing
• heckling
• badgering
• inflaming
• antagonizing
• pestering
• rousing
• discomforting
• perturbing
• agitating
• harrying
• disquieting
• outraging
• baiting
• incensing
• roiling
• rankling
• undoing
• affronting
• unhinging
• exercising
• fretting
• bullyragging
• deviling
• hagriding
• discomposing
• freaking (out)
• miffing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• obliging
• gratifying
• pacifying
• satisfying
• appeasing
• placating
• conciliating
• pleasing
• delighting
• mollifying
• comforting
• reassuring
• propitiating
• assuring
• soothing
• cheering
• consoling
• quieting
• contenting
• gladdening
• solacing

2

as in worsening

to make more severe

overheated rhetoric that only aggravated an already tense situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• worsening
• deepening
• complicating
• intensifying
• exacerbating
• amplifying
• magnifying

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• relieving
• mitigating
• alleviating
• helping
• easing
• improving
• allaying
• ameliorating
• assuaging
• bettering

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of aggravating

Adjective

The switcheroo that the director pulls between the two protagonists, starting her film with Said but then losing him for a chunk of the running time, can also prove a bit aggravating, especially because actor Letifov (who was also in Western) has such a photogenic face. —Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 23 May 2026

The onset of mating season this spring has escalated tensions, with the males’ loud early morning mating calls particularly aggravating residents. —Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 14 May 2026

Verb

That is aggravating Americas' frustrations with the president's economic performance, and likely will weigh on his fellow Republicans' performance in November's midterm elections. —Matt Peterson, CNBC, 30 May 2026

Makar hasn’t played since aggravating an apparent upper-body injury in Game 5 of Colorado’s second-round series against the Minnesota Wild. —Jesse Granger, New York Times, 24 May 2026