exasperate

1 of 2

verb

ex·as·per·ate ig-ˈza-spə-ˌrāt How to pronounce exasperate (audio)

exasperated; exasperating

transitive verb

: to cause irritation or annoyance to

It's a conundrum for any playwright: How do you enliven characters who alternately bore and exasperate each other?

Michael Phillips

It's a demanding dining experience that may exhaust and exasperate some customers …

Thomas Matthews

… they are just like any brothers who love and exasperate each other in equal measure …

Allison Glock

: to excite the anger of : enrage

She did show favour to the youth in your sight only to exasperate you, to awake your dormouse valour, to put fire in your heart and brimstone in your liver.

William Shakespeare

… no doubt he thought that such rigorous discipline as that might exasperate five hundred emigrants into an insurrection.

Herman Melville

obsolete : to make more grievous : aggravate

exasperate

2 of 2

adjective

ex·as·per·ate ig-ˈza-sp(ə-)rət How to pronounce exasperate (audio)

: irritated or annoyed especially to the point of injudicious action : exasperated

: roughened with irregular prickles or elevations

exasperate seed coats

Example Sentences

Verb The criticism of his latest movie is sure to exasperate his admirers. We were exasperated by the delays.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Timeliness in handling complaints is key to not further exasperate the problem.

Jia Wertz, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022 Bubbles also cause the dispensed product to expand, which is why your Slurpee or your Icee or your Arctic Blast inflates a bit after pouring, sometimes up and out of the domed lid to exasperate your parents.

Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 30 Apr. 2022 Simpson’s funny and moving tale is more successful, though its ambling pace and episodic structure may exasperate lovers of tight narrative.

Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2022 But none of these disputes appeared to mean as much to the UAE — or more exasperate the Americans — as the failure to publicly show up in the Emirati hour of need.

Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2022 This weekend’s weather pattern, with its clear skies and early season heat, will only exasperate the situation by heating the ground and siphoning away more of its precious water moisture content.

Tom Sater, CNN, 24 Mar. 2022 Voting restrictions, like those outlined in Senate Bill 90, can exasperate health disparities.

Laken Brooks, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021 His suggestions sometimes exasperate the garden designers, who have their own vision of where things should be.

Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2021 Without enough rescue animals to go around, organizations wind up fielding dozens of applications for a single dog, incentivizing some groups to put up maddeningly high adoption barriers that exclude and exasperate capable guardians.

BostonGlobe.com, 27 Oct. 2021 See More

exasperate

verb

as in to annoy

to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts small children can exasperate their parents with endless questions about why this or that is so

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

annoy
irritate
bother
aggravate
persecute
bug
infuriate
irk
get
vex
rile
anger
spite
worry
provoke
chafe
pique
eat
peeve
itch
grate
gripe
tease
insult
nark
plague
ruffle
gall
frost
get to
wear on
put out
enrage
nettle
offend
nag
inflame
rouse
rasp
harass
upset
rub the wrong way
burn (up)
unsettle
get on one's nerves
antagonize
stick in one's craw
agitate
hack (off)
heckle
hassle
set one's teeth on edge
pester
distress
get one's goat
outrage
enflame
perturb
discomfort
devil
rankle
disquiet
badger
affront
harry
roil
unhinge
madden
miff
bait
discompose
exercise
undo
fret
incense
bullyrag
ballyrag
hagride
freak (out)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

placate
pacify
appease
conciliate
oblige
delight
gratify
please
mollify
satisfy
propitiate
assure
soothe
reassure
gladden
cheer
comfort
content
console
quiet
solace

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of exasperate are irritate, nettle, peeve, provoke, and rile. While all these words mean "to excite a feeling of anger or annoyance," exasperate suggests galling annoyance and the arousing of extreme impatience.

his exasperating habit of putting off needed decisions

While in some cases nearly identical to exasperate, irritate implies an often gradual arousing of angry feelings that may range from mere impatience to rage.

constant nagging that irritated me greatly

In some situations, the words nettle and exasperate are roughly equivalent. However, nettle suggests a sharp but passing annoyance or stinging.

your pompous attitude nettled several people

The meanings of peeve and exasperate largely overlap; however, peeve suggests arousing fretful often petty or querulous irritation.

a toddler peeved at being refused a cookie

Although the words provoke and exasperate have much in common, provoke implies an arousing of strong annoyance that may excite to action.

remarks made solely to provoke her

The words rile and exasperate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, rile implies inducing an angry or resentful agitation.

the new work schedules riled the employees

单词	exasperate
释义	exasperate 1 of 2 verb ex·as·per·ate ig-ˈza-spə-ˌrāt exasperated; exasperating transitive verb 1 a : to cause irritation or annoyance to It's a conundrum for any playwright: How do you enliven characters who alternately bore and exasperate each other? Michael Phillips It's a demanding dining experience that may exhaust and exasperate some customers … Thomas Matthews … they are just like any brothers who love and exasperate each other in equal measure … Allison Glock b : to excite the anger of : enrage She did show favour to the youth in your sight only to exasperate you, to awake your dormouse valour, to put fire in your heart and brimstone in your liver. William Shakespeare … no doubt he thought that such rigorous discipline as that might exasperate five hundred emigrants into an insurrection. Herman Melville 2 obsolete : to make more grievous : aggravate exasperate 2 of 2 adjective ex·as·per·ate ig-ˈza-sp(ə-)rət 1 : irritated or annoyed especially to the point of injudicious action : exasperated 2 : roughened with irregular prickles or elevations exasperate seed coats Did you know? Exasperate comes from Latin exasperare, whose base, asper, means "rough." A relative of asper is asperity, which can refer to the roughness of a surface or the roughness of someone's temper. Another is spurn, meaning "to reject." Did you know? The Difference Between Exasperate and Exacerbate Lest you wish to exasperate your readers, you should take care not to confuse exasperate with the similar-sounding exacerbate, another Latin-derived verb that means "to make worse," as in "Their refusal to ask for help only exacerbated the problem." Synonyms Verb aggravate annoy bother bug burn (up) chafe eat frost gall get grate gripe hack (off) irk irritate itch nark [British] nettle peeve persecute pique put out rasp rile ruffle spite vex See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Verb The criticism of his latest movie is sure to exasperate his admirers. We were exasperated by the delays. Recent Examples on the Web Verb Timeliness in handling complaints is key to not further exasperate the problem. Jia Wertz, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022 Bubbles also cause the dispensed product to expand, which is why your Slurpee or your Icee or your Arctic Blast inflates a bit after pouring, sometimes up and out of the domed lid to exasperate your parents. Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 30 Apr. 2022 Simpson’s funny and moving tale is more successful, though its ambling pace and episodic structure may exasperate lovers of tight narrative. Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2022 But none of these disputes appeared to mean as much to the UAE — or more exasperate the Americans — as the failure to publicly show up in the Emirati hour of need. Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2022 This weekend’s weather pattern, with its clear skies and early season heat, will only exasperate the situation by heating the ground and siphoning away more of its precious water moisture content. Tom Sater, CNN, 24 Mar. 2022 Voting restrictions, like those outlined in Senate Bill 90, can exasperate health disparities. Laken Brooks, Forbes, 8 Nov. 2021 His suggestions sometimes exasperate the garden designers, who have their own vision of where things should be. Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2021 Without enough rescue animals to go around, organizations wind up fielding dozens of applications for a single dog, incentivizing some groups to put up maddeningly high adoption barriers that exclude and exasperate capable guardians. BostonGlobe.com, 27 Oct. 2021 See More Word History Etymology Verb Latin exasperatus, past participle of exasperare, from ex- + asper rough — more at asperity First Known Use Verb 1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1b Adjective 1541, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Kids Definition exasperate verb ex·as·per·ate ig-ˈza-spə-ˌrāt exasperated; exasperating : to make angry exasperate verb as in to annoy to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts small children can exasperate their parents with endless questions about why this or that is so Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance annoy irritate bother aggravate persecute bug infuriate irk get vex rile anger spite worry provoke chafe pique eat peeve itch grate gripe tease insult nark plague ruffle gall frost get to wear on put out enrage nettle offend nag inflame rouse rasp harass upset rub the wrong way burn (up) unsettle get on one's nerves antagonize stick in one's craw agitate hack (off) heckle hassle set one's teeth on edge pester distress get one's goat outrage enflame perturb discomfort devil rankle disquiet badger affront harry roil unhinge madden miff bait discompose exercise undo fret incense bullyrag ballyrag hagride freak (out) Antonyms & Near Antonyms placate pacify appease conciliate oblige delight gratify please mollify satisfy propitiate assure soothe reassure gladden cheer comfort content console quiet solace See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of exasperate are irritate, nettle, peeve, provoke, and rile. While all these words mean "to excite a feeling of anger or annoyance," exasperate suggests galling annoyance and the arousing of extreme impatience. his exasperating habit of putting off needed decisions While in some cases nearly identical to exasperate, irritate implies an often gradual arousing of angry feelings that may range from mere impatience to rage. constant nagging that irritated me greatly In some situations, the words nettle and exasperate are roughly equivalent. However, nettle suggests a sharp but passing annoyance or stinging. your pompous attitude nettled several people The meanings of peeve and exasperate largely overlap; however, peeve suggests arousing fretful often petty or querulous irritation. a toddler peeved at being refused a cookie Although the words provoke and exasperate have much in common, provoke implies an arousing of strong annoyance that may excite to action. remarks made solely to provoke her The words rile and exasperate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, rile implies inducing an angry or resentful agitation. the new work schedules riled the employees
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exasperate

verb

adjective

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Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

verb

verb

Synonym Chooser