exacerbates

verb

present tense third-person singular of exacerbate
as in deepens
to make more severe a misconceived plan that only exacerbated the city's traffic problem

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of exacerbates First, substantial evidence indicates that the structure of our congressional elections exacerbates legislative underperformance. — Scott Warren, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026 There’s a lot of misinformation that only exacerbates our culture urban-rural divide. — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026 In the war-and-plague story of Volume II, the wartime siege of Constantinople exacerbates the extreme heat and causes the ruin of the city as well as the eventual spread of the epidemic from the battlefields to the wider world. — Eileen Hunt, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026 Advocates say the practice of forcing people to sell homes exacerbates long-standing income disparities in the state. — Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026 Agentic speed greatly exacerbates the problem before a human review catches it. — Madhu Shashanka, Forbes.com, 28 Sep. 2026 On Wednesday, his attorney, Jacob Kaplan, said that the treatment for his cancer exacerbates his heart condition and will continue to lead to hospitalizations. — Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 2026 The 0-2 record is the bottom-line result, but everything that has led to the winless record exacerbates the situation. — Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 21 Sep. 2026 Biossance’s Squalane + 10% Lactic Acid Resurfacing Serum pairs it with exfoliating lactic acid to slough away the dry skin that exacerbates the appearance of wrinkles. — Emily Orofino, Allure, 15 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exacerbates
  1. deepens
  2. aggravates
  3. complicates
  4. worsens
  5. intensifies
Verb
  • The dispute deepens a rift between the two countries whose armies fought together against the TPLF during the 2020-2022 war.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Fear of default then leads to even more capital flight, which increases fears of default and the interest rate, and the vicious circle deepens.
    — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of deepens
Verb
  • Consider your current conditioning, access to equipment, and whether the movement aggravates your joints or an injury.
    — Jakob Roze, HEALTH, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Social pressures intensify as the Aries moon aggravates Mars.
    — USA TODAY, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of aggravates
Verb
  • September's inflation report complicates things for Kevin Warsh 's Federal Reserve .
    — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
  • That complicates the operations of Ukraine’s drone missions, particularly interceptor drones and mid-range strike drones, according to multiple sources.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of complicates
Verb
  • This yearly bottleneck worsens as changing fee structures make costs hard to predict.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Parkinson’s disease is a brain disorder that worsens over time.
    — Jennifer Fields, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of worsens
Verb
  • Forest and land fires in Indonesia have worsened this year as El Niño intensifies a prolonged dry season.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The warning was downgraded late Sunday night to an advisory, meaning residents should still be on high alert in the event that activity intensifies again.
    — Austin Turner, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of intensifies

Browse Nearby Words

exacerbated
exacerbates
exacerbating
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Cite this Entry

“Exacerbates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exacerbates. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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