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exacerbate

exa·cer·bate

UK/ɪɡˈzæsəˌbeɪt/ US/ɪɡˈzæsɚˌbeɪt/ uncommon

verb

1.

make worse

  • “This drug aggravates the pain”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

Origin

First attested in 1660; borrowed from Latin exacerbātus, perfect passive participle of Latin exacerbō (“to provoke”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from ex- (“out of; thoroughly”) + acerbō (“to embitter, harshen or worsen”).

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.