Made worse or more intense in terms of annoyance or anger. It describes irritation that has been increased or intensified by additional factors.
From Latin 'aggravatus,' past participle of 'aggravare' (to make heavy, burden), from 'ad-' (to) and 'gravis' (heavy). The emotional meaning of 'making anger heavier' developed alongside the physical meaning by the 17th century.
Aggravated anger is like adding weight to an already heavy load - each additional irritant makes the emotional burden harder to bear. This cumulative aspect explains why small things can trigger large reactions when we're already aggravated; our emotional capacity is already stretched thin.
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