aggravating
adjective
ag·gra·vat·ing
ˈa-grə-ˌvā-tiŋ 
1
informal
: arousing displeasure, impatience, or anger
an aggravating habit
2
: increasing the seriousness of (a crime)
aggravating circumstances like recklessness
Usage of Aggravate, Aggravated, Aggravating, and Aggravation
Aggravate can mean both "to make worse or more serious" and "to make angry or irritated especially by bothering again and again," but writers for most of the 20th century were advised against the latter, and this meaning is still not encountered frequently in formal contexts. Likewise, the meanings of aggravated, aggravating, and aggravation that relate to anger or irritation are most at home in informal use.
Examples of aggravating in a Sentence
there's nothing so aggravating as a blaring car alarm that no one is paying any attention to
Recent Examples on the Web
Ellis was convicted last month of seven counts of robbery and felony evasion; he was also found to have had two previous strike convictions and multiple aggravating factors during the trial, the DA's Office said.
—
Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 18 May 2026
The onset of mating season this spring has escalated tensions, with the males’ loud early morning mating calls particularly aggravating residents.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
Sitting back for 40 long, exhausting, aggravating minutes.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 14 May 2026
There is nothing more aggravating than a fly buzzing around your head (well, other than a mosquito).
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for aggravating
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Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 18 May 2026
The onset of mating season this spring has escalated tensions, with the males’ loud early morning mating calls particularly aggravating residents.
—Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 14 May 2026
Sitting back for 40 long, exhausting, aggravating minutes.
—Michael Russo, New York Times, 14 May 2026
There is nothing more aggravating than a fly buzzing around your head (well, other than a mosquito).
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 10 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for aggravating
Cite this Entry
“Aggravating.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aggravating. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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