exacerbate

Etymology

From Latin exacerbo (“to provoke”); ex (“out of; thoroughly”) + acerbo (“to embitter, harshen or worsen”).

verb

1. (transitive) To make worse (a problem, bad situation, negative feeling, etc.); aggravate.
   The proposed shutdown would exacerbate unemployment problems.
   Sino-Soviet relations were exacerbated by a border incident on May 9. Beijing charged that thirty Soviet troops, supported by a helicopter and navy boats, crossed the Ussuri River into the Hulin area of Heilongjiang province. 1986, Peter P. Cheng, “1978: The Four Modernizations on the March”, in Chronology of The People's Republic of China, 1970-1979, Scarecrow Press, Inc., →LCCN, →OCLC, page 395
   Liz: It's just with Ed here, it's no wonder I always bring my flat-mates out and then that only exacerbates things. Shaun: What do you mean? Liz: Well you guys hardly get on, do you? Shaun: No, what does "exacerbate" mean? 2004, Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright, Shaun of the Dead
   The reasons for this growing disconnect are myriad and complex but the situation is exacerbated by the reality that those English players who do smash through our game's "glass ceiling" command radically inflated transfer fees. August 20, 2013, Louise Taylor, “English talent gets left behind as Premier League keeps importing”, in The Guardian