Aggravate / Irritate

Certain sets of words in the English language tend to confuse people. I have found the following to be among them:

AGGRAVATE / IRRITATE

The verb aggravate means make worse; exacerbate. The verb irritate means annoy.

INCORRECT: I do not wish to irritate my mosquito bites by scratching them.

CORRECT: I do not wish to aggravate my mosquito bites by scratching them.

INCORRECT: My coworkers aggravate me when they don’t respond to my emails.

CORRECT: My coworkers irritate me when they don’t respond to my emails.

 © 2024 Ann Henry. All Rights Reserved.

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