makes something worse or more serious; makes someone feel annoyed or irritated.
From Latin 'aggravare' (to make heavy/worse), from 'ad-' (to) plus 'gravis' (heavy/grave). The sense evolved from 'making physically heavier' to 'making metaphorically worse.'
Interestingly, 'aggravate' originally meant to make something physically heavier (from Latin 'gravis'), but English shifted it to mean worsening any situation—showing how metaphorical thinking reshapes word meanings over time.
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