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
• frosting
• teasing
• peeving
• insulting
• narking
• getting to
• rasping
• hacking (off)
• provoking
• piquing
• wearing on
• putting out
• upsetting
• harassing
• enraging
• nagging
• rubbing the wrong way
• getting on one's nerves
• offending
• sticking in one's craw
• hassling
• maddening
• setting one's teeth on edge
• unsettling
• getting one's goat
• distressing
• heckling
• badgering
• inflaming
• antagonizing
• pestering
• discomforting
• rousing
• perturbing
• agitating
• harrying
• disquieting
• baiting
• outraging
• 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

Bagent, though, will also have to resist the urge to press on Sunday, an understandable temptation given the aggravating, albeit minor, interruptions to his growth over the past two months. — Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026

On Friday, Cowles assessed a $100 fine for each of the excess contributions and then doubled the fine, citing the case’s aggravating factors. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 2 Oct. 2026

Verb

And those are things that end up aggravating behavioral health disabilities. — Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026

With Williams dealing with an injury that’s always tricky for players in this league, there’s no reason to rush him back and risk aggravating it again. — Scott Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026