To irritate or annoy someone intensely; to make someone feel extremely frustrated or angry. It suggests pushing someone beyond their patience.
From Latin 'exasperare', combining 'ex-' (thoroughly) and 'asper' (rough). The original meaning was 'to make rough' or 'to roughen', which evolved to mean making someone's temper rough or irritated.
Think 'ex-' (out of) + 'asper' (rough) - you're making someone so rough they're 'out of' patience! The 'asp' in the middle is like an angry snake.
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