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Write it Right Wednesdays

The difference between aggravate & irritate

June 24, 2020

Raise your hand if you commonly misused words and phrases. (Hand raises). I can’t lie, and neither should you, we all misuse words and phrases when writing; and speaking honestly. It’s not our fault. We’re human. However, we can limit the number of times we do it by relearning the difference between the two. Today we’ll talk about the misused words: aggravate and irritate.

As usual, let’s begin with defining them. Aggravate means to add to an already troubling problem or situation. Irritate means to annoy or to vex. So if you think about it in levels of being upset, someone has to irritate you before then can aggravate you. In other words, it’s levels to being set. For example, Black Lives Matter was irritated 6 years ago about police brutality against minorities, but now they’re aggravated; as am I. 

In conclusion, sometimes we misuse words but we’re human so it will happen from time to time. The best practice to reduce the number of times it happens is to reteach it to yourself every now and then. Today we discussed aggravate (to make a bad situation worse) and irritate (to annoy). These words mean similar things, but are still different so they can be used interchangeably.

As always, if you have any questions about this blog post or comments feel free to email me at [email protected].[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]