aggravated

Syllables: ag·gra·va·ted/ˈæɡ.ɹə.veɪ̯tɪd/

aggravated is the simple past and past participle of aggravate.

Adjective

aggravated (comparative more aggravated, superlative most aggravated)

Having been the subject of aggravation; frustrated and angry.
Having become worse, more severe, or more dangerous.
- The cruel fallacy, long acted upon, that the insane were insensible to cold, and to other modifications of pain, is exploded; and under the new system, they are treated with the tenderest care, and ample provision is made for their every physical want. The old system inculcated that insane minds...1842, New York State Legislature Senate, Documents of the Senate of the State of New York, Issues 1-20, Boericke and Tafel, pages 5–6
- The cough seems to come from the depths of the abdomen, and causes pain in muscles and the chest: this remains a short time after the cough, which is followed by great exhaustion; cough especially aggravated at night and on lying down; sputum composed of thick yellow mucus.1880, United States National Transportation Safety Board, The Homoeopathic Times, Volume 7, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 108
1. Of or characterized by factors that increase the heinousness or offensiveness of the criminal offense.

Meaning of aggravate

Verb

aggravate (third-person singular simple present aggravates, present participle aggravating, simple past and past participle aggravated)

To make (an offence) worse or more severe; to increase in offensiveness or heinousness.
- 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 proue1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to...
Synonyms:

add insult to injury, twist the knife, add fuel to the fire, cap it all off, fan the flames, make matters worse, throw gasoline on the fire, With malice, hit someone when they are down, kick a dog when it's down

Antonyms:

pour oil on troubled waters, alleviate
(broadly) To make (any bad thing) worse.
- to aggravate my woes.1726, Homer, “Book XVI”, in [William Broome], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume IV, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC
Synonyms:

exacerbate

Antonyms:

alleviate, mitigate
(archaic) To give extra weight or intensity to; to exaggerate, to magnify.
- He aggravated the story.
Synonyms:

heighten, intensify, increase, magnify, accelerate, accrue, aggrandize, augment, embiggen, enhance
(obsolete) To pile or heap (something heavy or onerous) on or upon someone.
- In order to lighten the crown still further, they aggravated responsibility on ministers of state.1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, Oxford, published 2009, page 28
Synonyms:

dogpile, heap on, pile on
(colloquial, often, proscribed) To exasperate; to provoke or irritate.
- If both were to aggravate her parents, as my brother and sister do mine.1748, [Samuel Richardson], Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC
Synonyms:

provoke, irritate, exasperate, annoy, nettle, rankle, ruffle, sting, burn someone's ass, antagonize

See all 9 meanings of aggravate

Synonyms of aggravated

aggro

Forms of aggravated

comparative	more aggravated
superlative	most aggravated

Words formed from aggravated

Phrases with aggravated

aggravated assaults

Questions about aggravated

What does aggravated mean?: Aggravated means having been the subject of aggravation; frustrated and angry.
What is aggravated the simple past and past participle of?: Aggravated is the simple past and past participle of aggravate.
What part of speech is aggravated?: Aggravated is an adjective.
How do you pronounce aggravated?: Aggravated is pronounced /ˈæɡ.ɹə.veɪ̯tɪd/.

Words near aggravated in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: aggravated (page history and authors); aggravate (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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Cite this entry: “aggravated.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/aggravated. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.