Spanish Conversation · Level 120
60 words
Spanish word
agravar
Pronunciation
IPA/aɣɾaˈβaɾ/
Meaning
- verbmake worse
Example
No quiero agravar la situación.
I don't want to make the situation worse.
More examples
No tomar la medicina puede agravar la enfermedad.
Not taking the medicine can aggravate the illness.
Core concept
Putting extra pressure on an unstable situation.
Common phrases
agravar la situación
aggravate the situation
agravar el problema
aggravate the problem
agravar una enfermedad
aggravate an illness
Similar words
empeorar: Causes a situation or state to become worse in a general, overall way.
complicar: Makes a situation more complex, increasing the difficulty of dealing with it.
deteriorar: Reduces the quality or functioning of something, producing physical or functional decline.
Definition in Spanish
Empeorar algo aumentando su gravedad o intensidad por influencia externa o interna.
Word origin
Agravar derives from Latin ad- 'to' plus gravare 'to make heavy' (from gravis 'heavy'), so the idea of adding weight maps to worsening a condition.
Usage tips
- Agravar frequently collocates with nouns for conditions (agravar la situación, agravar una enfermedad) and thus appears often in news and medical contexts rather than casual conversation.