aggravation

aggravation — noun

1. feelings of irritation, or things that cause those feelings, often when someone

1.名詞C1
釋義

feelings of irritation, or things that cause those feelings, often when someone or something keeps bothering you on purpose.

例句

Olu sighed with aggravation when the printer jammed for the third time.

with + aggravation showing emotional reaction

The Lin family moved house to escape the daily aggravation of noisy neighbours upstairs.

aggravation of + noun phrase identifying the cause

同義詞
  • annoyance

    more neutral and common in everyday speech.

  • irritation

    stresses a sharp, prickly feeling rather than a building one.

  • exasperation

    stronger; suggests patience has run out completely.

  • hassle

    informal; emphasises the inconvenient effort involved.

反義詞
  • relief

    the easing of stress or annoyance.

  • comfort

    calm and ease rather than agitation.

文法句型

aggravation of [doing something]

a source of aggravation

用法筆記

Often informal in British English, especially when describing trivial daily nuisances. Frequently appears with possessives or with 'of' + the source of irritation; distinguish from sense 2, which describes worsening rather than emotional irritation.

常見錯誤

❌I felt much aggravation to him.
✅I felt aggravation toward him.
💡use 'toward/at', not 'to', for the target of irritation.
❌He shouted in aggravation on his sister.
✅He shouted in aggravation at his sister.
💡direct anger 'at' someone, not 'on' them.

2. the process by which an illness, injury, or difficult situation becomes more ser

2.名詞C1
釋義

the process by which an illness, injury, or difficult situation becomes more serious or harder to deal with.

例句

Doctors warned that running too soon could lead to aggravation of Saoirse's knee injury.

aggravation of + injury (medical context)

The new sanctions caused a serious aggravation of the country's food shortage.

aggravation of + ongoing situation

同義詞
反義詞

文法句型

aggravation of [a problem/condition]

用法筆記

Almost always uncountable and followed by 'of' + the thing being made worse. Common in medical, legal, and policy writing; distinguish from sense 1, which is about emotional irritation rather than physical or situational worsening.

常見錯誤

❌The medicine caused aggravation his cough.
✅The medicine caused aggravation of his cough.
💡always link with 'of' to what is being worsened.
❌There were several aggravations of the disease.
✅There was further aggravation of the disease.
💡this sense is uncountable, so avoid plural forms.