aggravation

/ˌæɡɹəˈveɪʃən/

//ˌæɡɹəˈveɪʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"aggravation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“aggravation” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #38,711. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#38,711
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of aggravating, or making worse; used of evils, natural or moral; the act of increasing in severity or heinousness; something additional to a crime or wrong and enhancing its guilt or injur...

Corpus desk

Index EN-aggravation · aggravation · English

aggravation · rank #38,711 · 15 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #38,711
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH aggregator

Nearest frequency peer: aggregator (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “aggravation”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “aggravation” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

aggravation vs aggregation
82% similar
aggravation vs aggravating
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for aggravation
PropertyValue
Headwordaggravation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌæɡɹəˈveɪʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#38,711
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “aggravation”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).aggravationlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “aggregator” (#38,712), “advices” (#38,709), “ADL” (#38,708). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “aggravation” is #38,711. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around aggravation (IPA /ˌæɡɹəˈveɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #38,711 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for aggravation, with forms such as "aggarvation", "aggraavtion", and "aggravaiton". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "aggregation", "aggravating", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French aggravation. The correct English form is aggravation, spelled A-G-G-R-A-V-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of aggravating, or making worse; used of evils, natural or moral; the act of increasing in severity or heinousness; something additional to a crime or wrong and enhancing its guilt or injurious consequences.
  2. 2
    Exaggerated representation.
  3. 3
    An extrinsic circumstance or accident which increases the guilt of a crime or the misery of a calamity.
  4. 4
    Provocation, irritation, annoyance.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how aggravation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Adrian, whose health had always been weak, now suffered considerable aggravation of suffering from the effects of his wound.
  2. A little less conversation, a little more action please / All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me

Etymology

From Middle French aggravation.

This word in other languages

agravio(Español)circonstances aggravantes(Français)Verärgerung(Deutsch)agravamento(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aggarvation
  • aggraavtion
  • aggravaiton
  • aggravasion
  • aggravatino
  • aggravationn
  • aggravatoin
  • aggravattion
  • aggravtaion
  • aggravvation
  • aggrravation
  • aggrvaation
  • agravation
  • agrgavation
  • gagravation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of aggravation - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aggarvation2aggraavtion2aggravaiton2aggravasion1aggravatino2aggravationn1aggravatoin2aggravattion1
Edit distance from "aggravation"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "aggravation"?
"aggravation" is spelled A-G-G-R-A-V-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæɡɹəˈveɪʃən/.
What does "aggravation" mean?
As a noun, "aggravation" means: The act of aggravating, or making worse; used of evils, natural or moral; the act of increasing in severity or heinousness; something additional to a crime or wrong and enhancing its guilt or injur...
What words are commonly confused with "aggravation"?
"aggravation" is commonly confused with "aggregation", "aggravating". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "aggravation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "aggravation" is /ˌæɡɹəˈveɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "aggravation"?
From Middle French aggravation. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "aggravation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

appellation#38,729Whitechapel#38,687unbeknownst#38,664culpability#38,797

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

apostrophe15 variantsbridegroom15 variantsthunderous15 variantscondensate15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list