aggravate

Etymology

From Latin aggravatus, past participle of aggravare (“to add to the weight of, make worse, oppress, annoy”), from ad (“to”) + gravare (“to make heavy”), from gravis (“heavy”). See grave and compare aggrieve and aggrege.

verb

1. To make (an offence) worse or more severe; to increase in offensiveness or heinousness.
   The defense made by the prisoner's counsel did rather aggravate than extenuate his crime. 1709, Joseph Addison, The Tatler
2. (by extension) To make worse; to exacerbate.
   […] to aggravate the horrors of the scene 1837, William H. Prescott, History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic
3. (now rare) To give extra weight or intensity to; to exaggerate, to magnify.
   He aggravated the story.
4. (obsolete) To pile or heap (something heavy or onerous) on or upon someone.
   In order to lighten the crown still further, they aggravated responsibility on ministers of state. 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, Oxford, published 2009, page 28
5. (now chiefly colloquial) To exasperate; to provoke or irritate.
   Ben Bella was aggravated by having to express himself in French because the Egyptians were unable to understand his Arabic. 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 85