aggravating

adjective

ag·​gra·​vat·​ing ˈa-grə-ˌvā-tiŋ 

: arousing displeasure, impatience, or anger

an aggravating habit

Common Uses of Aggravate, Aggravation, and Aggravating: Usage Guide

Although aggravate has been used to refer to rousing someone to anger since the 17th century, it has been the object of disapproval only since about 1870. It is used in expository prose

when his silly conceit … about his not-very-good early work has begun to aggravate us

—William Styron

but seems to be more common in speech and casual writing.

a good profession for him, because bus drivers get aggravated

—Jackie Gleason, interview, 1986

& now this letter comes to aggravate me a thousand times worse

—Mark Twain, letter, 1864

The "make worse" meaning is far more common in published prose than the "rouse to anger" meaning. Such is not the case, however, with aggravation and aggravating. Aggravation is used in the "irritation, provocation" sense somewhat more than in its earlier senses; aggravating has practically no use other than to express annoyance.

Synonyms

• abrasive
• annoying
• bothersome
• carking
• chafing
• disturbing
• exasperating
• frustrating
• galling
• irksome
• irritating
• maddening
• nettlesome
• nettling
• peeving
• pesky
• pestiferous
• pestilent
• pestilential
• pesty
• plaguey
• plaguy
• rankling
• rebarbative
• riling
• vexatious
• vexing

Examples of aggravating in a Sentence

there's nothing so aggravating as a blaring car alarm that no one is paying any attention to

Recent Examples on the Web

The judge also ruled against each of the defense's attempts to strike the aggravating factors prosecutors had found, which made Kohberger eligible for the death penalty. —Julia Reinstein, ABC News, 20 Nov. 2024

Prosecutors have said in court filings that four aggravating factors exist in the case against Kohberger, who turns 30 later this month, making the crime more severe and the death penalty warranted. —Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024

One aggravating factor for the debt and deficit picture has been high interest rates from the Federal Reserve’s series of hikes to fight inflation. —Jeff Cox, CNBC, 18 Oct. 2024

Airborne dust poses the risk of aggravating respiratory diseases. —Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of aggravate

First Known Use

1673, in the meaning defined above