How to Use Aggravate vs. Irritate
Aggravate (a verb) comes from the Latin aggravatus, which means to “render more troublesome … to make heavy or heavier, add to the weight of” (Etymonline, aggravate).
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To irritate, also a Latin verb, irritatus (meaning to excite, provoke, or annoy), quite literally means to annoy or make someone angry or impatient.
The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary definition of irritate is “to annoy somebody, especially by something you continuously do or by something that continuously happens.”
So, the consensus seems to be that aggravating someone or something means making an already difficult or frustrating situation worse, whereas to irritate is to provoke or annoy.
Please don’t aggravate my headache.
His constant complaining irritates me.
The loud noise aggravated my nerves.
Stop irritating the wound.
Strunk & White on aggravate vs. irritate
From Strunk & White on the word aggravate:
This word is not a synonym for annoy or irritate. To aggravate is to make something worse: He started running too soon and aggravated his sprained ankle.
“Aggravate” / “irritate”, used in sentences
| Examples: “aggravate”, used in sentences |
|---|
| He aggravated an old shoulder injury during the win against Chelsea.
The government’s actions will only aggravate the problem. Their negative reactions have greatly aggravated the situation. |
| Examples: “irritate”, used in sentences |
|---|
| That man really irritates me!
She was moody at times and easily irritated. The noise was beginning to irritate me intensely. She was irritated by his continued refusal to believe her. |
“aggravate” vs. “irritate,” associate “aggravate” with “adding to” a problem (making it worse) and “irritate” with simply “annoying” someone.
Aggravate, synonyms
- bother
- irritate
- provoke
- bug
- dog
- exasperate
- gall
- get
- get on one’s nerves
- grate
- hack
Irritate, synonyms
- annoy
- bother
- confuse
- disturb
- enrage
- exasperate
- gall
- incense
- inflame
- infuriate
- irk
- offend
- peeve
- provoke
Word origin (of aggravate/irritate)
1520s, “make heavy, burden down,” from Latin aggravatus, “to render more troublesome,” literally “to make heavy or heavier, add to the weight of,” from ad “to” (see ad-) + gravare “weigh down,” from gravis “heavy”.
1530s, “stimulate to action, rouse, incite,” from Latin irritatus, past participle of irritare “excite, provoke, annoy”.
Read about other misused words
| Commonly misused words | UK English vs. US English |
|---|---|
| former vs. latter | burned or burnt? |
| bear with vs. bare with | color or colour? |
| breathe or breath | favorite vs. favourite |
| compliment vs. complement | smelled or smelt? |
| effect vs. affect | gray or grey? |
| elude or allude | favor vs. favour |
| it’s or its | analyze or analyse? |
Work Sheet
According to the blog post, what is the primary meaning of “aggravate”?
Which word is defined in the post as meaning “to annoy somebody, especially by something you continuously do or by something that continuously happens”?
The blog post suggests associating “aggravate” with what concept?
According to the blog post and Strunk & White, which word is NOT a synonym for annoy or irritate?
Please don’t my headache.
His constant complaining me.
He started running too soon and his sprained ankle.
Stop the wound.
She was moody at times and easily .
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference?
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Can aggravate mean annoy?
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Give an example for aggravate.
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Give an example for irritate.
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Which word means make things worse?
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Yash, D. "Aggravate vs. Irritate (Correct Usage, + Examples)." Grammarflex, Jun 20, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/aggravate-vs-irritate-correct-usage-examples/.
