| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | upset, alienate |
| Synonyms: | acerbate, acidulate, aggravate, anger, annoy, bitter, bother, disaffect, disillusion, envenom, exacerbate, exasperate, irritate, make bitter, make resentful, poison, sour, venom, worsen |
| Antonyms: | calm, comfort, make happy, pacify |
| Main Entry: | canker |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | blight, corrupt |
| Synonyms: | animalize, bestialize, consume, corrode, debase, debauch, demoralize, deprave, embitter, envenom, inflict, pervert, poison, pollute, rot, ruin, scourge, sore, stain, ulcer, vitiate |
| Main Entry: | disappoint |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | sadden, dismay; frustrate |
| Synonyms: | abort, baffle, balk, bring to naught, bungle, cast down, chagrin, circumvent, come to nothing, dash, dash hopes, deceive, delude, disconcert, disenchant, disgruntle, dishearten, disillusion, dissatisfy, dumbfound, embitter, fail, fall down on, fall flat, fall short of, foil, founder, hamper, hinder, leave in the lurch, let down, miscarry, mislead, not show, put out, ruin prospects, stand up, tease, thwart, torment, vex |
| Antonyms: | delight, excite, make happy, please, satisfy |
| Main Entry: | exacerbate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | infuriate; make worse |
| Synonyms: | add insult to injury, aggravate, annoy, egg on, embitter, enrage, envenom, exasperate, excite, fan the flames, feed the fire, go from bad to worse, heat up, heighten, hit on, increase, inflame, intensify, irritate, madden, provoke, push one's button, rattle one's cage, rub salt in a wound, vex, worsen |
| Notes: | to aggravate is to make something worse, while to exacerbate is to increase something's bitterness or harshness |
| Antonyms: | aid, calm, comfort, help, soothe |
| Main Entry: | exasperate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | upset, provoke |
| Synonyms: | T-off, aggravate, agitate, anger, annoy, bug*, disturb, drive up the wall, embitter, enrage, exacerbate, excite, gall, get under one's skin, get*, incense, inflame, infuriate, irk, irritate, madden, make waves, needle, nettle, peeve, pique, rankle, rile, roil, rouse, try the patience of, vex, work up |
| Antonyms: | calm, comfort, ease, placate, please, soothe |
| Main Entry: | harden |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | accustom |
| Synonyms: | acclimate, acclimatize, adapt, adjust, blunt, brutalize, callous, callus, case-harden, climatize, coarsen, conform, deaden, develop, discipline, dull, embitter, habituate, indurate, inure, make callous, numb, paralyze, render insensitive, roughen, season, steel, stiffen, strengthen, stun, stupefy, teach, train |
| Antonyms: | be intolerant, indulge, spoil |
| Main Entry: | inflame |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | anger, aggravate |
| Synonyms: | agitate, annoy, arouse, burn, disturb, embitter, enrage, exacerbate, exasperate, excite, fan, fire, fire up, foment, gall, get*, grate, heat, heat up, ignite, impassion, incense, increase, infuriate, intensify, intoxicate, irritate, kindle, light, madden, provoke, put out, rile, roil, rouse, steam up, stimulate, vex, worsen |
| Antonyms: | alleviate, appease, cool, pacify, placate, put out, quench, soothe, tranquilize |
| Main Entry: | rankle |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | annoy, irritate |
| Synonyms: | aggravate, anger, bother, chafe, embitter, exasperate, fester, fret, gall, get one's goat, harass, hurt, inflame, irk, mortify, nettle, obsess, pain, pester, plague, rile, torment, vex |
| Antonyms: | delight, make happy, please |
| Main Entry: | sour |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | alienate |
| Synonyms: | acidify, curdle, disenchant, embitter, envenom, exacerbate, exasperate, make sour, spoil, turn, turn off |
| Antonyms: | encourage, excite, incite |