Dictionary
ag•gra•vate
Pronunciation: (ag'ru-vāt"), [key]—
v.t., -vat•ed, -vat•ing.
1. to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome:
to aggravate a grievance; to aggravate an illness.
2. to annoy; irritate; exasperate:
His questions aggravate her.
3. to cause to become irritated or inflamed:
The child's constant scratching aggravated the rash. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.