exacerbate

  • 1Exacerbate — Ex*ac er*bate ([e^]gz*[a^]s [ e]r*b[=a]t; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Exacerbated} ([e^]gz*[a^]s [ e]r*b[=a] t[e^]d); p. pr. & vb. n. {Exacerbating} ([e^]gz*[a^]s [ e]r*b[=a] t[i^]ng).] [L. exacerbatus, p. p. of exacerbare; ex out (intens.) +… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2exacerbate — I verb aggravate, arouse, augment, deteriorate, enrage, exacerbare, excite, heighten, incense, incite, increase, inflame, infuriate, intensify, irritate, make more severe, make worse, provoke, render worse, worsen II index compound, distress,… …

    Law dictionary

  • 3exacerbate — 1650s, a back formation from exacerbation or else from L. exacerbatus, pp. of exacerbare (see EXACERBATION (Cf. exacerbation)). Related: Exacerbated; exacerbating …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 4exacerbate — [v] infuriate; make worse 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 …

    New thesaurus

  • 5exacerbate — ► VERB ▪ make (something bad) worse. DERIVATIVES exacerbation noun. ORIGIN Latin exacerbare make harsh …

    English terms dictionary

  • 6exacerbate — [eg zas′ər bāt΄, igzas′ər bāt΄] vt. exacerbated, exacerbating [< L exacerbatus, pp. of exacerbare, to exasperate, make angry < ex , intens. + acerbus, bitter: see ACERBITY] 1. to make more intense or sharp; aggravate (disease, pain,… …

    English World dictionary

  • 7exacerbate — UK [ɪɡˈzæsə(r)beɪt] / US [ɪɡˈzæsərˌbeɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms exacerbate : present tense I/you/we/they exacerbate he/she/it exacerbates present participle exacerbating past tense exacerbated past participle exacerbated formal to make a… …

    English dictionary

  • 8exacerbate — transitive verb ( bated; bating) Etymology: Latin exacerbatus, past participle of exacerbare, from ex + acerbus harsh, bitter, from acer sharp more at edge Date: 1660 to make more violent, bitter, or severe < the proposed shutdown…would&#8230; …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 9exacerbate — verb a) To irritate. The proposed shutdown would exacerbate unemployment problems. b) To make (pain, anger, etc.) worse; aggravate …

    Wiktionary

  • 10exacerbate — verb Exacerbate is used with these nouns as the object: ↑anxiety, ↑condition, ↑crisis, ↑division, ↑effect, ↑imbalance, ↑injury, ↑pain, ↑problem, ↑shortage, ↑situation, ↑ …

    Collocations dictionary