BharatNotes Exacerbate
verb (transitive)Usage in a UPSC answer
Poorly designed fiscal transfers can exacerbate regional inequalities, deepening the divide between developed and lagging states rather than fostering balanced and inclusive growth.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
exacerbation (n), exacerbated (adj), exacerbating (v pres.p)
Root
Latin exacerbare = to irritate, provoke; ex- = thoroughly; acerbus = harsh, bitter (from acer = sharp)
Etymology
From Latin exacerbatus, past participle of exacerbare "to irritate, provoke," from ex- "thoroughly" + acerbus "harsh, bitter" (from acer "sharp, keen"); first attested in English in the 1650s.
Memory Hook
Root acer = 'sharp/bitter' (as in 'acerbic'). To EXACERBATE is to make a situation sharper and more bitter — pouring acid on an open wound. Do not confuse with 'exasperate' (to irritate a person), which derives from asper, 'rough'.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
To make an existing problem worse. It is precise and widely useful across GS1 and GS3, and the discipline it imposes is that something must already exist to be exacerbated: climate change exacerbates water stress that was already present, it does not create it. Answers that respect that sequence are describing causation more accurately than those that treat every driver as an origin.
Don’t Confuse It With
Exacerbate worsens something already present. Cause brings it into existence. Aggravate is close to exacerbate and largely interchangeable. Compound implies the addition of a further problem on top, rather than intensification of the same one.
Hindi Meaning
बढ़ा देना (badhā denā) or और गंभीर बनाना.
Common Questions
- What does exacerbate mean?
- To make an existing problem or condition worse.
- Can something exacerbate a problem it also caused?
- Not in careful usage. Exacerbate implies the problem already existed, so a driver that creates the problem is better described as causing it.
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