DEF: to make something that is already bad even worse:
EX:
This attack will exacerbate the already tense relations between the two communities.
The high energy cost will exacerbate the financial difficulties of Europeans who already suffer from high inflation.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
exacerbate (verb)transitive verb
to make more violent, , or severe - bitter the proposed shutdown … would exacerbate unemployment problems Science
