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exacerbate

/ɪɡˈzæsərbeɪt//ɪɡˈzæsəbeɪt/·verb
to make a bad situation worse
Fig. 1 — I watch someone lie in a sickbed, brows knotted, a small red throb at the forehead, and a spoon of medicine reaches their lips.
01Definition

To exacerbate is to make a bad thing worse — the exact mirror of mitigate. The Latin exacerbare means 'to make bitter' (acerbus is the root of 'acerbic'), and the word's particular cruelty is that it so often describes help gone wrong: scratching exacerbates the itch, hasty fixes exacerbate the bug, emergency borrowing exacerbates the debt. What exacerbates rarely intends to — which is why the word travels with 'only', as in measures that only exacerbated the crisis.

02In use
  • iCutting the bus routes would only exacerbate the isolation of villages already in a precarious position.
  • iiScratching exacerbates the rash and slows its healing.
  • iiiThe minister's dismissive tone exacerbated public anger rather than calming it.
03Collocations
  • exacerbate the problem
  • only exacerbate
  • exacerbate tensions
  • exacerbate inequality
  • exacerbated by

Family exacerbation (noun)

04Relations

=worsen, aggravate, intensify, inflame, compound

≠mitigate, alleviate, ease

05Compared
PairThe difference
exacerbate vs abatethe trouble settles of its own accord → abate; a named factor builds it higher → exacerbate.
exacerbate vs aggravatean injury (or a person's patience) worked worse, often lastingly → aggravate; a situation intensified into a flare-up, formal → exacerbate.
exacerbate vs deterioratebecomes worse by itself, no object → deteriorate; makes an existing bad thing worse, needs an object → exacerbate.
exacerbate vs easeturns the trouble down (gently, by degrees) → ease; turns it up (formally, with a cause) → exacerbate.
exacerbate vs escalaterising in intensity or scale, step by step → escalate; making an already-bad situation worse → exacerbate.

Also compared with alleviate, lessen, mitigate, relieve, worsen

06TOEFL & IELTS

A problem-solution essay power verb: 'this would only exacerbate the problem' is the standard IELTS move for rejecting a flawed solution before proposing yours. TOEFL passages use it for feedback loops — warming exacerbates drought, drought exacerbates fires. Learn it as the precise opposite of mitigate, and mind the pronunciation: ig-ZAS-er-bate, with the stress on the second syllable.

07Asked
What is the difference between exacerbate and exasperate?
Exacerbate makes a bad situation worse ('the delay exacerbated the shortage'). Exasperate makes a person annoyed ('the delay exasperated the passengers'). One works on problems, the other on feelings. The memory hook is inside exasperate: it hides 'asper', rough — an exasperating person rubs you the wrong way.
How do you pronounce exacerbate?
Ig-ZASS-er-bate — stress on the second syllable, and the crucial part is that the 'c' is soft, an s-sound, not a k. It is not 'ex-a-KER-bate'. The opening is a light 'ig-Z', like the start of 'exam'. Four beats: ig·ZASS·er·bate. The soft c is the mistake to guard against.
Why does 'exacerbate' so often go with 'only'?
Because it names help that backfires — action meant to improve a situation that instead worsens it. 'The bailout only exacerbated the debt' is the classic shape: the 'only' underlines that the fix did the opposite of its job. The scene above is that betrayal exactly — a spoon of medicine that floods the face with fever instead of relief.
What is the opposite of exacerbate?
Mitigate — to make a bad thing less severe — with alleviate and ease close behind. The pair is the backbone of problem-solution essays: a good policy mitigates the crisis, a bad one exacerbates it. Learning them together gives you both halves of the standard move for weighing a solution.
What is the noun form of exacerbate?
Exacerbation — a worsening or flare-up. It has a strong medical life: an 'asthma exacerbation' or 'COPD exacerbation' is a sudden intensifying of symptoms, a standard clinical term. In general use, 'an exacerbation of tensions' names any sharpening of an already bad state.
What is the difference between exacerbate and aggravate?
The compressed tell: exacerbate is the more formal, often accidental worsening, while aggravate usually has an outside hand acting on the trouble. The full contrast, with both animated scenes, is on the aggravate vs exacerbate page in the 'Compared' list above, alongside this verb's other pairings.