as in worsening
to make more severe
a misconceived plan that only exacerbated the city's traffic problem
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Recent Examples of exacerbating
Weddings may be exacerbating the problem for some.
—
Ana Teresa Solá, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2025
Possibly exacerbating the issue, Moore says, was the fact that the surface of the Bay of Bengal is currently two degrees Celsius warmer than its historical monthly average.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2025
The shutdown is only exacerbating an air traffic controller shortage that America has been grappling with for years.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
The Cowboys have been marred by the lack of playoff success since Aikman left the building, and there’s nothing from Romo’s career in the win column that should be worth exacerbating.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Oct. 2025
While fans, air conditioners, and cooling pajamas can help keep night sweats at bay, stuffy bedding may be exacerbating the problem.
—Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
The book, some Democrats say, is exacerbating the tension that has been plaguing Democrats.
—Amie Parnes, The Hill, 22 Sep. 2025
An Essay on the Principles of Population was his attempt to ascertain where some of those limits might lie, so that policy could respond to social problems effectively, rather than exacerbating them by trying to achieve the impossible.
—Roy Scranton, JSTOR Daily, 18 Sep. 2025
As a result, five controllers took 45-day government trauma leave, exacerbating staffing shortages.
—Aaron Cooper, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2025
Ana Teresa Solá, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2025
Possibly exacerbating the issue, Moore says, was the fact that the surface of the Bay of Bengal is currently two degrees Celsius warmer than its historical monthly average.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 8 Oct. 2025
The shutdown is only exacerbating an air traffic controller shortage that America has been grappling with for years.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2025
The Cowboys have been marred by the lack of playoff success since Aikman left the building, and there’s nothing from Romo’s career in the win column that should be worth exacerbating.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Oct. 2025
While fans, air conditioners, and cooling pajamas can help keep night sweats at bay, stuffy bedding may be exacerbating the problem.
—Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025
The book, some Democrats say, is exacerbating the tension that has been plaguing Democrats.
—Amie Parnes, The Hill, 22 Sep. 2025
An Essay on the Principles of Population was his attempt to ascertain where some of those limits might lie, so that policy could respond to social problems effectively, rather than exacerbating them by trying to achieve the impossible.
—Roy Scranton, JSTOR Daily, 18 Sep. 2025
As a result, five controllers took 45-day government trauma leave, exacerbating staffing shortages.
—Aaron Cooper, CNN Money, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exacerbating
Verb
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In 2015, my mother’s caregiver set up a phone call between my mom and me, in the hope that a familiar voice might cut through her worsening dementia.—
Joe Garcia,
New Yorker,
12 Oct. 2025
-
People, including Afghan refugees leaving Pakistan, were turned away due to the worsening security situation.—
NPR,
NPR,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The protests also highlight deepening tensions between Portland officials and the federal government over immigration enforcement and the presence of federal forces in American cities.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
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Israel remains fully and unequivocally committed to the Abraham Accords, to expanding the circle of peace, deepening our partnerships, and ensuring that the promise of stability, prosperity, and coexistence becomes the enduring legacy of our generation.—
Yossi Shelley,
semafor.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Amid the aftermath, as aid groups and Taliban bureaucrats were assisting those injured and left homeless by the earthquake, other Taliban officials twice suspended most internet and cellular reception throughout Afghanistan, complicating aid efforts.—
NPR,
NPR,
14 Oct. 2025
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Michaels took to her Instagram days after the release of Fit for TV to post a series of screenshots of text chains, email threads, and other pieces of documentation refuting or otherwise complicating each claim leveled at her.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Exacerbating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exacerbating. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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