AGGRAVATE


Meaning of AGGRAVATE in English

■ verb

1》 make (a problem, illness, etc.) worse.

2》 informal annoy (someone).

Derivatives

aggravating adjective

aggravatingly adverb

aggravation noun

Origin

C16 (earlier (C15) as aggravation ): from L. aggravat- , aggravare 'make heavy'.

Usage

Aggravate in the sense ‘annoy’ is in widespread use in modern English and dates back to the 17th century, but the use is still regarded as incorrect by some traditionalists.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.