Word of the Day: Aggravate
To aggravate someone is to bother, cause problems, or increase a problem. It’s similar to the word “irritate.”
- This situation aggravates me. (present tense)
- This situation is aggravating me. (present continuous tense)
- Her lack of concern about her grades aggravates her teachers and her parents.
- Smoking has aggravated his condition. (He made his health condition worse.)
- Don’t aggravate her.
- Don’t aggravate me.
Some students confuse the past participle “aggravated” with the present continuous tense (be aggravating) or the adjectives, “aggravating” and “aggravated.”
- The drivers are aggravated by the traffic jam. (This sentence is in the passive voice.)
- The traffic jam is aggravating the drivers. (This sentence is in the past continuous tense.)
- She feels aggravated by her supervisor’s lack of clear directions.
- Her boss’s inability to clearly communicate directions aggravates her.
- I feel aggravated. / I’m aggravated.
- This is aggravating.
- Flying can be an aggravating experience, especially if you have connecting flights.
- The passengers on the plane were aggravated by the delays. They felt aggravated.
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with A page to see the list of all words starting with letter A. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
