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
The American whiskey industry is on the rocks, with anti-tariff backlash hurting exports and exacerbating the strains of a years-long slump in domestic demand.
—
Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Interest rates on new car loans now top 9%, exacerbating an automotive affordability crisis.
—Miguel Ambriz, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025
The flyers warn that the ongoing shutdown is exacerbating issues caused by the nationwide air traffic controllers’ staffing shortage.
—AFAR Media, 17 Oct. 2025
These and other invasive questions may shield operators from liability but carry a grave risk of exacerbating a user’s mental well-being.
—Kevin Frazier, Twin Cities, 15 Oct. 2025
The vast majority of those discards wind up in the trash, further exacerbating the avocado’s environmental impact.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2025
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 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
Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Interest rates on new car loans now top 9%, exacerbating an automotive affordability crisis.
—Miguel Ambriz, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025
The flyers warn that the ongoing shutdown is exacerbating issues caused by the nationwide air traffic controllers’ staffing shortage.
—AFAR Media, 17 Oct. 2025
These and other invasive questions may shield operators from liability but carry a grave risk of exacerbating a user’s mental well-being.
—Kevin Frazier, Twin Cities, 15 Oct. 2025
The vast majority of those discards wind up in the trash, further exacerbating the avocado’s environmental impact.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 15 Oct. 2025
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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exacerbating
Verb
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Climate was barely mentioned, though scientists have been studying and shouting about its relevance in worsening wildfires for years.—
Joan Meiners,
AZCentral.com,
20 Oct. 2025
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Coleman described a downward spiral of worsening engagement with instruction in general.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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While the war was at full tilt, Har-Melech’s minority settler faction had been able to exercise outsize influence over Netanyahu’s decision making, deepening Israel’s entanglement in Gaza.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
21 Oct. 2025
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Panama Canal at Center of US-China Tensions China has been deepening its ties with states in Central and South America and has developed important strategic relationships with Brazil, Venezuela and Peru.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Comcast has expressed interest in acquiring all or part of Warner, Semafor can confirm, complicating life for both David Zaslav and Paramount, which has lost its head start in the bidding.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
21 Oct. 2025
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Other lawsuits also are complicating decision-making.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Exacerbating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exacerbating. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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