igˈz]asə(r)ˌbāt, egˈz], ekˈs], ]aas-, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin exacerbatus, past participle of exacerbare, from ex- ex- (I) + acerbus harsh, bitter, unpleasant, from acer sharp — more at edge
transitive verb
1. : to make more violent or bitter : intensify the bad qualities of
foolish words exacerbating a quarrel
all the frictions that exacerbated the long-drawn-out negotiations — Howard Taubman
2. : to cause (a disease or its symptoms) to become more severe
her condition was exacerbated by lack of care
intransitive verb
: to cause exacerbation
what charms and consoles in the private house may distract and exacerbate in the public office — Virginia Woolf
— used chiefly as a participial adjective
exacerbating factors in modern life
Synonyms:
exacerbate , embitter , and sour can mean in common to cause to become, or become increasingly, severe or bitter. exacerbate stresses intensification in harshness or grievousness or an increase in virulence or violence, as of pain, disease, or hatred
the injuries to his pride, exacerbated by her desertion of him — Edith Sitwell
their prejudices have not been unduly exacerbated — Cabell Phillips
the reduction of diseases may merely exacerbate the world's poverty and hunger by increasing the number of people — Eric Larrabee
they may exacerbate rather than cure that unnatural craving for excess and novel thrills — J.D.Adams
embitter implies the making of an experience (especially a normally pleasant experience) unpleasant or of an unpleasant experience increasingly hard to endure or of a person bitter or resentful
the remoter outcome of the case was that competition was embittered rather than allayed — Times Literary Supplement
his last years were embittered by disputes among his sons — Encyc. Americana
violence … embittered the fight between capitalism and socialism — Stringfellow Barr
the irresponsibility of privilege that embitters even men of goodwill — Time
sour implies a making or a becoming acidulous, hostile, resentful, peevish, or cynical
his heart was soured in his weary old hide, and his hopes had curdled in his breast — Amy Lowell
they were almost truculent, as if they had been soured by heavy and unwelcome duties — John Buchan
the anxiousness of some might sour to enmity under the acerbity of his attack — H.O.Taylor
the condition of the city government soured most of the thinking citizens