Related Searches
Nearby Words
| Main Entry: | |
| 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 |
ərˌbeɪt| Main Entry: | anger |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make someone mad; become mad |
| Synonyms: | acerbate, affront, aggravate, agitate, annoy, antagonize, arouse, bait, blow up, boil over, boil, bristle, burn, burn up, chafe, craze*, cross, displease, egg on, embitter, enrage, exacerbate, exasperate, excite, fret, gall, get mad, get on one's nerves, goad, incense, inflame, infuriate, irritate, lose one's temper, madden, make sore, miff, nettle, offend, outrage, pique, provoke, raise hell, rankle, rant, rave, rile, ruffle, seethe, steam up, stew, stir up, tempt, umbrage, vex |
| Antonyms: | calm, forbear, make happy, quiet, soothe |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | bother |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | harass, annoy; give trouble |
| Synonyms: | afflict, aggravate, agitate, alarm, badger, bedevil, bore, browbeat, carp at, concern, cross, discommode, disconcert, disgust, dismay, displease, disquiet, distress, disturb, eat, embarrass, exacerbate, exasperate, goad, grate on, grieve, harry, hinder, hurt, impede, inconvenience, insult, intrude upon, irk, irritate, molest, nag, needle, nudge, pain, perplex, perturb, pester, pick on, plague, provoke, pursue, put out, ride, scare, spite, tantalize, taunt, tease, torment, trouble, upset, vex, worry |
| Antonyms: | aid, help, please |
Example Sentences
- Many of us exacerbate the problem by treating our e-mail addresses as public information.
- In some cases, she argues, current policies may even exacerbate the problem.
- Job losses exacerbate the situation for homeowners with risky mortgages.
| Main Entry: | compound |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make difficult; complicate |
| Synonyms: | add to, aggravate, augment, confound, confuse, exacerbate, extend, heighten, intensify, magnify, make complex, make intricate, multiply, worsen |
| Antonyms: | better, make easy, uncomplicate |
| Main Entry: | embitter |
| 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: | 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 |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| 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 |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | intensify |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make more forceful, severe |
| Synonyms: | accent, accentuate, add fuel, add to, aggrandize, aggravate, augment, beef up, boost, brighten, build up, concentrate, darken, deepen, emphasize, enhance, escalate, exacerbate, exalt, heat up, heighten, increase, intensate, lighten, magnify, point, pour it on, quicken, raise, redouble, reinforce, rise, rouse, set off, sharpen, spike*, step up, strengthen, stress, tone up, whet |
| Antonyms: | calm, lower, slow, soothe, weaken |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| 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 |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
