ex ‧ a ‧ cer ‧ bate /ɪɡˈzæsəbeɪt $ -sər-/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: past participle of exacerbare , from acerbus 'bitter' ]
to make a bad situation worse:
The recession has exacerbated this problem.
I don’t want to exacerbate the situation.
—exacerbation /ɪɡˌzæsəˈbeɪʃ ə n $ -sər-/ noun [uncountable]