exasperate

1. (transitive) To tax the patience of; irk, frustrate, vex, provoke, annoy; to make angry.Examples: "And this report Hath so exasperate [sic] the king that he Prepares for some attempt of war."; "The picture represents a Cape-Horner in a great hurricane; the half-foundered ship weltering there with its three dismantled masts alone visible; and an exasperated whale, purposing to spring clean over the craft, is in the enormous act of impaling himself upon the three mast-heads."; "Beadle goes into various shops and parlours, examining the inhabitants; always shutting the door first, and by exclusion, delay, and general idiotcy, exasperating the public."Synonyms: aggravate, rile, aggravate, annoy, rankle, ruffle, sting, antagonizetransitive