Exasperated By “Exacerbated”

Exasperated By “Exacerbated”

 

To all:

I have a request:

Stop using the word “exacerbate”.

Instead use the word “worsen”. This is for several reasons.

“Worsen” is two syllables, “exacerbate” is four. Briefness is a virtue.

“Worsen” has Anglo-Saxon roots, “exacerbate” is from Latin; so the former seems direct, the latter fake-fancy. The latter is a class signifier: it says, ‘I the speaker am so high-class that I use high-class words’.

“Worsen” sounds, at worst, like ‘worsted’, a high-quality wool yarn. What anyone has against it is a mystery to me, but there are worse things to be accidentally reminded of than worsted. Whereas “exacerbate” sounds like “exasperate” and “masturbate”.

Anyone saying “worsen” sounds like a person-of-the-people speaking briefly while wearing good clothes; but anyone saying “exacerbate” sounds like an upper-class wannabee maundering on and on that they’re so fed up that they could go wank.

So stop the exasperating exacerbation before it gets any worse.