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
This destroys the trust necessary for public health to function and forces the most vulnerable families into the shadows, exacerbating the very health inequities the city claims to be fighting.
—
Dr. Mattie Renn, New York Daily News, 27 May 2026
With less service, ridership drops, exacerbating the financial distress and eventually leading to the failure of the system.
—Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
Rising temperatures are exacerbating threats to Australia's iconic koalas, an already vulnerable species, scientists warn.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 26 May 2026
An announcer during the broadcast said Busch was battling a sinus cold, and that the race track’s elevation and consequential intense G-forces could be exacerbating Busch’s symptoms.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026
As funding shrinks, communities in hard-to-reach regions, where immunizing children is more expensive to begin with, may inadvertently lose out, exacerbating existing health disparities.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
More recently, sharply higher gasoline prices amid the Iran war are exacerbating the K-shape, researchers found.
—Sarah Agostino,greg Iacurci,kelli Grant, Cfp®, CNBC, 20 May 2026
War in the Middle East is exacerbating all these problems simultaneously, putting Japan in harm’s way.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Slowing growth is exacerbating the trend, the report said.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
Dr. Mattie Renn, New York Daily News, 27 May 2026
With less service, ridership drops, exacerbating the financial distress and eventually leading to the failure of the system.
—Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, Mercury News, 26 May 2026
Rising temperatures are exacerbating threats to Australia's iconic koalas, an already vulnerable species, scientists warn.
—Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 26 May 2026
An announcer during the broadcast said Busch was battling a sinus cold, and that the race track’s elevation and consequential intense G-forces could be exacerbating Busch’s symptoms.
—Anna Lazarus Caplan, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026
As funding shrinks, communities in hard-to-reach regions, where immunizing children is more expensive to begin with, may inadvertently lose out, exacerbating existing health disparities.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
More recently, sharply higher gasoline prices amid the Iran war are exacerbating the K-shape, researchers found.
—Sarah Agostino,greg Iacurci,kelli Grant, Cfp®, CNBC, 20 May 2026
War in the Middle East is exacerbating all these problems simultaneously, putting Japan in harm’s way.
—William Pesek, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Slowing growth is exacerbating the trend, the report said.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 6 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exacerbating
Verb
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The attack in al-Murrah, near contested Barah, underscores RSF’s tightening hold over resource-rich Darfur and Kordofan and the worsening humanitarian crisis engulfing civilians.—
Fatma Khaled,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
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New pipelines and fossil fuel plants generate millions of dollars for fossil fuel companies and utilities, while locking young people into decades more of pollution and worsening climate change.—
Sydney Collins,
Hartford Courant,
28 May 2026
Verb
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That’s despite growing appeal as the oldest baby boomers are turning 80 this year and the United States faces a deepening shortage of home care aides, driven by low wages, high turnover and demanding workloads.—
Matt O’Brien,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
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Housing costs have soared, deepening affordability worries and homelessness.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN Money,
31 May 2026
Verb
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The attacks are complicating US peace talks with Iran, with Tehran insisting that any ceasefire with Washington must include Israel’s operations in Lebanon.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
2 June 2026
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Health officials say the outbreak likely circulated undetected for weeks before it was identified, complicating efforts to trace contacts and isolate infected individuals.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exacerbating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exacerbating. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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