exasperate

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 21, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>exasperate</strong> &#149; \ig-ZASS-puh-rayt\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Exasperate</em> means "to cause irritation or annoyance to someone" or "to excite the anger of someone."</p> <p>// The flight delays began to <em>exasperate</em> people in the airport.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/exasperate">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"His suggestions sometimes <em>exasperate</em> the garden designers, who have their own vision of where things should be." — Jeanette Marantos, <em>The Los Angeles Times</em>, 6 Nov. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Exasperate</em> comes from Latin <em>exasperare</em>, whose base, <em>asper</em>, means "rough." A relative of <em>asper</em> is <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/asperity">asperity</a></em>, which can refer to the roughness of a surface or the roughness of someone's temper. Another is <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spurn">spurn</a></em>, meaning "to reject."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>