exacerbate

verb

ex·​ac·​er·​bate ig-ˈza-sər-ˌbāt 

exacerbated; exacerbating

transitive verb

: to make more violent, bitter, or severe

The new law only exacerbates the problem.

exacerbation

ig-ˌza-sər-ˈbā-shən 

noun

Did you know?

The Latin adjective acer, meaning "sharp," forms the basis of a number of English words. Acerbic ("having a bitter temper or sour mood"), acrid ("having a sharp taste or odor"), and acrimony ("a harsh manner or disposition") are just the tip of the jagged iceberg. First appearing in English in the 17th century, exacerbate combines the Latin prefix ex- ("out of" or "outside") with acer offspring acerbus, meaning "harsh" or "bitter." Just as pouring salt in a wound worsens pain, things that exacerbate cause a situation to go from bad to worse. A pointed insult or cutting remark, for example, might exacerbate tensions between two bitter rivals. The legacy of acer isn't all negative, however. The Latin name for the genus of maple trees and shrubs is Acer, owing to maples’ characteristically pointy leaves.

Did you know?

Exacerbate vs. Exasperate

Exacerbate is frequently confused with exasperate, and with good reason. Not only do these words resemble one another in spelling and pronunciation, they also at one time held exceedingly similar meanings. Exasperate is today most commonly used as a synonym of annoy, but for several hundred years it also had the meanings “to make more grievous” and “to make harsh or harsher.” Exacerbate is now the more common choice of these two words when one seeks to indicate that something is becoming increasingly bitter, violent, or unpleasant. It comes in part from the Latin word acer, meaning “sharp,” whereas exasperate is from asper, the Latin word for “rough.”

Synonyms

• aggravate
• complicate
• worsen

Examples of exacerbate in a Sentence

The declining retirement security faced by growing numbers of Americans is being exacerbated by increasing longevity and quickly rising health care costs. —Jeff Madrick, New York Review of Books, 20 Mar. 2008

… the sway that pack journalism holds on the Beltway press corps persists. The Crowd is never so influential as in the ever-lengthening season of presidential campaigns. The feverish obsessions of the blogosphere have only exacerbated the phenomenon: Now the herd just turns faster in pursuit of some ginned-up "controversy" or faux scandal. —Editor & Publisher, April 2007

The proposed factory shutdown would only exacerbate our unemployment problems.

His angry comments have exacerbated tensions in the negotiation process.

Recent Examples on the Web

Tennis is not a huge sport in the country and this is exacerbated at the women’s level. —Tim Ellis, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

No matter who Americans cast a ballot for, election anxiety seems inescapable this year, exacerbated by razor-thin races in key swing states, the specter of another Donald Trump campaign effort to overturn the results and increasingly violent political rhetoric. —Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024

The mental hardship was only exacerbated by the 2022 burglary of her home. —Char Adams, NBC News, 2 Nov. 2024

This misperception is exacerbated by the fact that only a fraction of posts with false or unverified information are checked and marked as such. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin exacerbātus, past participle of exacerbāre "to irritate, exasperate, make worse," from ex- ex- entry 1 + acerbāre "to make bitter, make worse," verbal derivative of acerbus "acid, bitter, bitterly hostile, distressing" — more at acerb

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined above

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Medical Definition

exacerbate

transitive verb

ex·​ac·​er·​bate ig-ˈzas-ər-ˌbāt 

exacerbated; exacerbating

: to cause (a disease or its symptoms) to become more severe

her condition was exacerbated by lack of care

exacerbation

-ˌzas-ər-ˈbā-shən 

noun