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 …

EXACERBATE definition: to increase the severity, bitterness, or violence of (disease, ill feeling, etc.); aggravate. See examples of exacerbate used in a sentence.

EXACERBATE meaning: 1. to make something that is already bad even worse: 2. to make something that is already bad even…. Learn more.

exacerbate (ɪɡˈzæsəˌbeɪt; ɪkˈsæs-) vb (tr) 1. to make (pain, disease, emotion, etc) more intense; aggravate 2. to exasperate or irritate (a person)

Think of exacerbate then as a sharp or bitter thing that makes something worse. A drought will exacerbate a country's food shortage. Worsen, intensify, aggravate and compound are similar, …

2 meanings: 1. to make (pain, disease, emotion, etc) more intense; aggravate 2. to exasperate or irritate (a person).... Click for more definitions.

Definition of exacerbate verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.