exacerbate

transitive-verb
UK: /ɪɡˈzæs.ə.beɪt/
US: /ɪɡˈzæs.ɚ.beɪt/

  1. To make something bad even worse.

    1. The lack of rain will exacerbate the water shortage.
    2. His angry words served only to exacerbate the tense situation.

  2. To increase the severity, bitterness, or painfulness of a disease or disorder.

    1. Stress can exacerbate symptoms of many illnesses.
    2. The patient's condition was exacerbated by a lack of proper care.

Synonyms

inflame aggravate compound intensify worsen
exacerbate intransitive-verb

  1. To become worse; to be made more violent or bitter.

    1. His pain started to exacerbate after the surgery.
    2. The conflict began to exacerbate, resulting in escalating violence.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "exacerbate" in English means: To make something bad even worse., To increase the severity, bitterness, or painfulness of a disease or disorder..

The phonetic transcription of "exacerbate" is /ɪɡˈzæs.ə.beɪt/ in British English and /ɪɡˈzæs.ɚ.beɪt/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "exacerbate": inflame, aggravate, compound, intensify, worsen.

Example usage of "exacerbate": "The lack of rain will exacerbate the water shortage.". More examples on the page.