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

Other split-toe designs with smaller pockets can force the foot into a smaller space, aggravating hammertoes and neuromas. — Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 24 Aug. 2026

Others pointed out that the music in the gym was quite loud, and might be aggravating for the baby’s ears. — Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026

Verb

Ibarra’s assault charge also carries enhancements for causing great bodily injury, aggravating factors and for being previously convicted of multiple felonies, according to court records. — Jason Green, Mercury News, 9 Sep. 2026

Stowers, who has 18 home runs, missed the first 21 games of the season with a right hamstring strain, then missed nearly two weeks in August after re-aggravating that injury. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026