to exasperate

Examples

• All

• The fiery young William Roper, who yearns to battle evil, is exasperated by Sir Thomas More's devotion to the law.

  Academic text (1997)

• To know him is to be exasperated by him.

  A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2013)

• "Can I cut the deck?" I liked to do that, which exasperated my mother.

  Fiction book (1997)

• "Will you please describe the man for me?" Exasperated, I repeated what I'd told him two days earlier.

  Fiction book (1993)

• Ephesians 6:4 says, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children. Instead, bring them up in the training and the instruction of the Lord."

  Respect (2021)

• Within these classrooms, teachers were often exasperated by a lack of attention and misbehavior among the students.

  Academic text (2014)

• "Nonsense!" Aria tried to hand the knife back, exasperated by the impertinent girl's theatrics.

  Fiction book (2002)

• The constant interruptions during the meeting exasperated everyone present.

• Her habit of arriving late to class exasperates the teacher every day.

• The child's refusal to follow simple instructions often exasperates his parents.

Synonyms

B

to bother

vsto exasperate

∞ 1.0

To annoy or disturb someone

is specifically stronger, making someone very annoyed through repetition

B

to bug

vsto exasperate

• Informal

229 3.7

To annoy someone by bothering them repeatedly

is stronger and more upsetting, not just a persistent nuisance

A

to annoy

vsto exasperate

144 1.0

Make someone slightly angry or bothered by small repeated actions

creates a stronger, more upsetting reaction than slight irritation

G

to get on someone's nerves

vsto exasperate

• Informal

60 4.9

To bother someone again and again until they feel angry

pushes annoyance to a higher, more upsetting level through repetition

I

to irritate

vsto exasperate

57 2.9

Make someone feel annoyed or impatient, often by repeated small actions

is harsher in effect, producing deeper upset instead of mild impatience

D

to drive someone crazy

vsto exasperate

• Informal

46 3.2

Make someone very annoyed or upset

is very annoying but usually caused by repeated small actions

P

to pester

vsto exasperate

32 3.2

To annoy someone by asking for things again and again

builds greater anger or upset beyond mere repeated pestering

R

to rile

vsto exasperate

22 6.9

Make someone annoyed, often by small things

causes more intense annoyance and stronger emotional upset by repetition

A

to aggravate

vsto exasperate

15 4.2

Annoy someone and make them angrier

is similarly intense but emphasizes repeated provoking actions

D

to displease

vsto exasperate

13 4.7

To make someone feel annoyed or unhappy

produces a much stronger upset, not just mild dissatisfaction

V

to vex

vsto exasperate

13 7.0

To annoy someone by small, repeated actions

causes a higher level of upset and stronger irritation overall

G

to grate

vsto exasperate

• Informal

9 6.7

Annoy someone more and more over time

triggers a more intense upset often through repeated provoking acts

P

to peeve

vsto exasperate

1 6.8

To make someone feel annoyed

is more likely to cause deep upset rather than mere resentment

G

to get under one's skin

vsto exasperate

• Informal

1 7.2

To annoy someone again and again so they feel bothered

creates very strong annoyance often from repeated deliberate provocation

Antonyms

C

calm

680 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

S

to soothe

75 3.4

To make someone feel calmer or reduce their pain

How Annoyed

to enrage

27 3.7

to exasperate

2 5.9

to annoy

144 1.0

to bother

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology