aggravating
adjective
Common Uses of Aggravate, Aggravation, and Aggravating: Usage Guide
Although aggravate has been used to refer to rousing someone to anger since the 17th century, it has been the object of disapproval only since about 1870. It is used in expository prose
William Styron
but seems to be more common in speech and casual writing.
Jackie Gleason, interview, 1986
Mark Twain, letter, 1864
The "make worse" meaning is far more common in published prose than the "rouse to anger" meaning. Such is not the case, however, with aggravation and aggravating. Aggravation is used in the "irritation, provocation" sense somewhat more than in its earlier senses; aggravating has practically no use other than to express annoyance.
Examples of aggravating in a Sentence
Andrew Greif, NBC news, 21 May 2025
Some of the movie’s views may be his own, but mostly it seems drawn from weird, aggravating, or poignant behavior he’s observed firsthand.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 17 May 2025
The latest version of the standard has launched, offering multiple ways to streamline the usually aggravating setup process.
—ArsTechnica, 7 May 2025
Within this framework, certain Economic Nationalists (such as Pat Buchanan) have argued in favor of an across-the-board flat rate tariff, avoiding the aggravating complexity of different rates for different products from different countries.
—Nathan Lewis, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for aggravating
Cite this Entry
“Aggravating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aggravating. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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