aggravate
/ˈæɡ.ɹə.veɪ̯t/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.80 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To make (an offence) worse or more severe; to increase in offensiveness or heinousness.
Example Sentences
- "Once more, the more to aggrauate the note, With a foule Traitors name ſtuffe I thy throte, And wiſh (ſo pleaſe my Soueraigne) ere I moue, What my tong ſpeaks, my right drawn ſword may proue"
- "The defense made by the prisoner's counsel did rather aggravate than extenuate his crime."
- "to aggravate my woes."
- "[…] to aggravate the horrors of the scene"
- "He aggravated the story."
- "In order to lighten the crown still further, they aggravated responsibility on ministers of state."
Etymology
The adjective is first attested in 1471 in Middle English, the verb in 1530; from Latin aggravātus, perfect passive participle of aggravō (“to add to the weight of, make worse, oppress, annoy”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to”) + gravō (“to make heavy”), from gravis (“heavy”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). See grave and compare aggrieve and aggrege. Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English. By surface analysis, ag- + grave (“heavy”) + -ate (“verb suffix”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *gʷreh₂-
Usage
Inflected Forms
aggravates (present, singular)
aggravating (participle, present)
aggravated (participle, past)
aggravated (past)
more aggravate (comparative)
most aggravate (superlative)