exasperate
/ig'zɑ:spəreit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To irritate or provoke to a high degree; to annoy intensely: To cause someone to become extremely frustrated or angry.
- To make (a situation, feeling, or condition) more severe or intense; to aggravate: To worsen or increase the acuteness of something negative.
Usage and Examples
To irritate intensely:
- His constant complaining began to exasperate his colleagues.
- The slow internet connection exasperated her as she tried to meet the deadline.
To make worse or more severe:
- The new policy only served to exasperate the existing tensions within the community.
- Lack of sleep can exasperate feelings of anxiety.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- "to be exasperated": This is a common passive/adjectival form describing the state of being extremely annoyed.
- She was exasperated by the repeated delays.
- The word often implies a sense of final straw or a loss of patience after prolonged irritation.
Variants and Related Words
- Exasperating (adj.): Describing something that causes intense irritation.
- The exasperating process took hours.
- Exasperation (n.): The feeling of intense irritation or frustration.
- He sighed in exasperation.
Synonyms
- Infuriate: To make someone extremely angry.
- Provoke: To stimulate or incite a reaction, often anger.
- Aggravate: To make a problem or situation worse; can also mean to annoy (informal).
- Irk: To irritate or annoy.
Antonyms
- Pacify: To soothe or calm.
- Appease: To bring to a state of peace or quiet.
- Alleviate: To make (suffering, deficiency, or a problem) less severe.
Related Phrases and Idioms
- To the point of exasperation: To a degree that causes intense frustration.
- The instructions were confusing to the point of exasperation.
- Exasperated sigh/gesture: A non-verbal expression of deep frustration.
- He answered with an exasperated sigh.
Verb
- make worse
- This drug aggravates the pain
- make furious
- exasperate or irritate