MEANING
To increase the severity of an existing difficulty or harmful condition.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- exacerbate a problem
- exacerbate tensions
On the page
Conflicting instructions exacerbated the delays.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- exacerbate
- Past tense
- exacerbated
- Past participle
- exacerbated
- Present participle
- exacerbating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- exacerbate
- Present continuous
- am/is/are exacerbating
- Present perfect
- have/has exacerbated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been exacerbating
- Past
- exacerbated
- Past continuous
- was/were exacerbating
- Past perfect
- had exacerbated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been exacerbating
- Future
- will exacerbate
- Future continuous
- will be exacerbating
- Future perfect
- will have exacerbated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been exacerbating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: exacerbate; exacerbates; exacerbated; exacerbated; exacerbating Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: change, causation. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: exacerbates.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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