Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Latin
Origin: , past participle of aggravare 'to make heavier', from ad- 'to' + gravare 'to make heavy'

aggravate

 verb
     
ag‧gra‧vate [transitive]
1 to make a bad situation, an illness, or an injury worse [≠ improve]:
Their money problems were further aggravated by a rise in interest rates.
Building the new road will only aggravate the situation.
2 to make someone angry or annoyed [= irritate]:
What really aggravates me is the way she won't listen.
—aggravating adjective
—aggravatingly adverb
—aggravation noun [uncountable and countable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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