Meaning & use
exacerbating
Last updated
“exacerbating” is a form of “exacerbate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Making a problem, pain or bad situation worse than it already was.
Grammar: Present participle of exacerbate, which takes an object: exacerbating the problem.
Patterns
- exacerbating something
- exacerbating a problem
Cutting the bus service is exacerbating the traffic problem.
He kept scratching the rash, exacerbating the itching.
The drought is exacerbating tensions between farmers.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Tending to make an existing problem worse.
Grammar: Used before a noun, often in the phrase exacerbating factor.
Patterns
- an exacerbating factor
Stress is an exacerbating factor for many skin conditions.
The doctor listed several exacerbating causes of the asthma attacks.
Poor sleep can have an exacerbating effect on anxiety.
Common combinations
- exacerbating the problem
- Adding more cars is only exacerbating the problem.
- exacerbating factor
- Cold air is an exacerbating factor for her cough.
- exacerbating tensions
- The comments were exacerbating tensions in the team.
- exacerbating the situation
- Shouting is just exacerbating the situation.
- exacerbating symptoms
- Dust is exacerbating his allergy symptoms.
Synonyms and how they differ
- worsening
- Worsening is simpler and works for any decline, while exacerbating is more formal and often links one thing to the harm it adds.
- aggravating
- Aggravating can also mean annoying, but exacerbating only means making worse.
- intensifying
- Intensifying means making stronger, which is not always bad, unlike exacerbating.
Opposites
Word family
- exacerbate verb
- to make a problem worse
- exacerbation noun
- a worsening, especially of a disease
- exacerbated adjective
- made worse
Commonly confused: exacerbating or exasperating?
exacerbating vs exasperating
Exasperating means causing annoyance or frustration, while exacerbating means making something worse.
Practice
The long delay is ____ the frustration of already tired travelers.
Choose one answer.
Exacerbating means making something worse, which fits delay and frustration. Alleviating means the opposite, and exaggerating means to overstate.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “exacerbating”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.