Aggravate
Aggravate verb - To make more severe.
Usage example: overheated rhetoric that only aggravated racial tension in the city
Nearby Words: aggravation, aggravating
Assuage
Assuage verb - To make more bearable or less severe.
Usage example: a mother cooing to her toddler and assuaging his fear of the dark
Nearby Words: assuaging, assuagement
Common collocations
Cite this Source
Assuage and Aggravate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/aggravate/assuage
Aggravate & Assuage. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/aggravate/assuage>.
Assuage or Aggravate. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/aggravate/assuage.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "aggravate" and "assuage" have occurred on timeline