My friend, a constant source of word confusions, lol, said their pain is exasperated by movement. Now, I think they meant exacerbated, as in movement makes the pain worse . . . They may be exasperated at the pain, but it’s the movement that exacerbates the pain.
When you look at it, exacerbate affects an object or situation.
Exasperate affects a person.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noir for you from either end.
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| Exacerbate | Exasperate |
|---|---|
Bioremediation: Nature’s Hazmat Crews is under the CC BY 3.0 NZ license, via The Science Explorer and courtesy of the New Zealand Defense Force. — “Bumbling attempts at excavating and removing the hazardous materials … can sometimes exacerbate the situation.” |
Girl Exasperated by Headache Pain is in the public domain, via PxFuel. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Verb, transitive
Third person present verb: exacerbates |
Verb, transitive
Third person present verb: exasperates |
| Make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse | Irritate and frustrate (someone) intensely |
| Examples: | |
| The exorbitant cost of land in urban areas only exacerbated the problem.
The forest fire was exacerbated by the lack of rain. She understands the need to control situations instead of exacerbating them. |
This futile process exasperates prison officials.
The teacher was exasperated in her attempts to get her students’ attention. Privately, court officials admit they are becoming increasingly exasperated by the very system they serve. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Noun: exacerbation | Adjective: exasperated Adverb: exasperatedly Noun: exasperation |
| History of the Word: | |
| Mid-17th century, from the Latin exacerbat- meaning made harsh, from the verb exacerbare, from ex- (expressing inducement of a state) + acerbus (harsh, bitter). | Mid-16th century, from the Latin exasperat- meaning irritated to anger, from the verb exasperare (based on asper meaning rough). |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Exacerbate vs Exasperate
Apple Dictionary.com
Lexico.com: exasperate
Pinterest Photo Credits:
RDN COVID-19 Sign by anIslander1234 is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
