as in worsening
to make more severe
a misconceived plan that only exacerbated the city's traffic problem
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Recent Examples of exacerbating
But Rounds said residents stressed the need for additional spaces on the property to avoid exacerbating the community’s parking shortage by forcing residents and staff to park on local streets.
—
Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026
Attendees, Kessler said, will likely be more thoroughly screened going forward — exacerbating lines at entrances that can already take hours to clear.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The ripples would be felt across the five boroughs, exacerbating our ongoing crisis of child poverty if TPS holders were to lose work authorization and no longer be able to provide for their children.
—Dr. Alister Martin, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026
Of course, the Knicks are only exacerbating that issue by playing their starting lineup so many minutes together.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
School leaders across the state have pointed to rising costs, declining enrollment and a flawed state funding system as some factors exacerbating their financial strain.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026
High oil prices sparked by the Iran war are accelerating Latin America’s oil boom, though the growth risks exacerbating economic inequality across the region, analysts said.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 20 Apr. 2026
This propulsive documentary follows Climate Defiance and founder Michael Greenberg’s unabashedly disruptive protests, expressing their fervent and urgent demands for climate action in the spaces — and faces — of industry executives and politicians exacerbating the crisis.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2026
As those dry earlier, so do fuels lower down, exacerbating a drought already plaguing the West’s high plains.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 15 Apr. 2026
Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026
Attendees, Kessler said, will likely be more thoroughly screened going forward — exacerbating lines at entrances that can already take hours to clear.
—ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
The ripples would be felt across the five boroughs, exacerbating our ongoing crisis of child poverty if TPS holders were to lose work authorization and no longer be able to provide for their children.
—Dr. Alister Martin, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026
Of course, the Knicks are only exacerbating that issue by playing their starting lineup so many minutes together.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2026
School leaders across the state have pointed to rising costs, declining enrollment and a flawed state funding system as some factors exacerbating their financial strain.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026
High oil prices sparked by the Iran war are accelerating Latin America’s oil boom, though the growth risks exacerbating economic inequality across the region, analysts said.
—Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 20 Apr. 2026
This propulsive documentary follows Climate Defiance and founder Michael Greenberg’s unabashedly disruptive protests, expressing their fervent and urgent demands for climate action in the spaces — and faces — of industry executives and politicians exacerbating the crisis.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2026
As those dry earlier, so do fuels lower down, exacerbating a drought already plaguing the West’s high plains.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 15 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exacerbating
Verb
-
Many Americans feel financially squeezed — over half say their finances are worsening, according to a recent Gallup poll, the highest since 2001.—
Mary Cunningham,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
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However, many of his former clients later sued him on allegations of fraud and several of them have criticized him for allegedly worsening the boxing climate.—
PEOPLE,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
These spillover effects are deepening an arc of instability stretching from Europe to the Middle East, from Africa to Asia.—
Sudarsan Raghavan,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2026
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While announcing Jacobson’s hiring, Stagwell said her responsibilities will include expanding ReachTV’s footprint and deepening its content partnerships.—
Sportico Staff,
Sportico.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Ian does his best to make the most of his time with his son, but the single father has a knack for complicating things.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Apr. 2026
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These dynamic risks are prolonging inflation and complicating the path for central banks, which may need to keep interest rates higher for longer to contain price pressures.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Exacerbating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exacerbating. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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