exacerbate
Americanverb
-
to make (pain, disease, emotion, etc) more intense; aggravate
-
to exasperate or irritate (a person)
Other Word Forms
- exacerbatingly adverb
- exacerbation noun
- unexacerbating adjective
Etymology
Origin of exacerbate
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin exacerbātus (past participle of exacerbāre “to exasperate, provoke”), equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + acerbātus acerbate
Compare meaning
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ascribing it mainly to one faction risks exacerbating the problem.
The D line was closed for more than two months last year for construction under Wilshire Boulevard, contributing to a 13.5% drop in ridership that was exacerbated by immigration raids in the area.
From Los Angeles Times
The move has further exacerbated the already crippling oil and fuel shortages Cuba has been suffering for years.
From BBC
But the combination of stubborn food inflation and record income inequality is exacerbating the divide, forcing global food majors to rethink how they market to different economic strata.
The selloff may have been exacerbated by a domino effect of investors trying to front-run selling their shares, in Gastwirth’s opinion.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
