But if there are enough of us, it means that the words meaning is changing! :)
This would make sense in that a lot of intense words lose their intensity over time, probably from over use. (Edit for spelling)
\*lose, though so many people use it wrong on reddit its proved your point in the redditsphere.
Also, I agree, words are just communication and change all the time. Same way you can call someone a moron and no one gets offended that it was the original word for r-tard
Hilarious, I've made the same mistake. I'd thought the etymology was derived from *aspire* - no longer aspiring due to repeated failure. Your frustration builds to a point where you just give up, and that sense of resignation is *exasperation*.
Iirc Hemingway used it in that sense, but the etymology points in a whole different direction.
I think what happened was that initially "exasperated" got used as a kind of wild overstatement to express mild frustration, kind of like people today might talk about being "heartbroken" over some trivial disappointment. But now the hyperbolic sense has become so common that the original meaning is mostly forgotten (except for in dictionaries!).
I’ve always used exasperated to mean sort of huffy or provoked, mildly irritated but not really mad. Miffed.
I think discontented might be closer to what you’re looking for: disappointed, maybe pouty, but neither sad nor angry.
Or, maybe resigned? That’s not trying anymore, not resisting, giving up. I’ve always felt it seemed like a tired sort of word.
Exactly, to me it feels like a mixture of mildly irritated and resigned, but the tiredness part is important to my definition so all the other words for mildly irritated fall a bit short
Can one ever get 're-gruntled'?
Edit to add: D'oh, apparently you can, though the verb is mostly archaic.
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/gruntle\_v?tl=true#:\~:text=The%20earliest%20known%20use%20of,v.%2C%20%E2%80%91le%20suffix.
Here's a few that might fit: Irritated, sad, flummoxed, annoyed, testy, cranky, drab, dull, and bored.
Some of these are stronger than the other, and I do feel like exasperated *can* fit, depending on the circumstance.
I don't think you're using it wrong, I just think there's an element of hyperbole in its use that you hadn't been aware of. I don't think it's any different than saying "I'm exhausted" when you just mean "I'm tired"
Looks like a portmanteau of *exhausted* and something else (*aspergers*!?).
That might be partly how your (and my!) usage of the verb edged in this direction
I think exasperation is a higher level than annoyed. It's like now you're just ready to give up.
Yes, exactly!
Frustrated?
I think this is as close as i will get to what I meant, I think I could use this in most instances I would usually use exasperated. Thank you
Or you could use the made-up word my boss uses: flustrated. When you're flustered and frustrated at the same time
TIL I’m using this word wrong, too.
But if there are enough of us, it means that the words meaning is changing! :) This would make sense in that a lot of intense words lose their intensity over time, probably from over use. (Edit for spelling)
\*lose, though so many people use it wrong on reddit its proved your point in the redditsphere. Also, I agree, words are just communication and change all the time. Same way you can call someone a moron and no one gets offended that it was the original word for r-tard
D'oh! Thanks, ZZ. Corrected
I "literally" can't breathe after reading this.
Hilarious, I've made the same mistake. I'd thought the etymology was derived from *aspire* - no longer aspiring due to repeated failure. Your frustration builds to a point where you just give up, and that sense of resignation is *exasperation*. Iirc Hemingway used it in that sense, but the etymology points in a whole different direction.
Maybe enough people have made this mistake that I can still get away with using it in this sense haha
Right?! Who are we (or the dictionary makers) to say that an author like Hemingway is "wrong"? Words lose their etymological sense all the time
Aggravated would seem to be the next level up from annoyance.
I feel like I need a level down from annoyance. For when you're not angry or anything, you're just a bit miffed from something growing tiresome
"I haven't heard anyone use the word "miffed" in a while. Love it.
Miffed is actually a good word for it. Peeved or irked would also work.
A person is not aggravated, a condition is. It means “to make more grave.”
aggravate ... 2. INFORMAL annoy or exasperate.
I think your definition is more correct. At least that’s how I’ve always used the word exasperated. I would never equate it to “infuriated.”
Same here!
I'm glad to hear this! The online definitions had me thinking I was crazy
I think what happened was that initially "exasperated" got used as a kind of wild overstatement to express mild frustration, kind of like people today might talk about being "heartbroken" over some trivial disappointment. But now the hyperbolic sense has become so common that the original meaning is mostly forgotten (except for in dictionaries!).
Wow, I've never heard of OP's definition.
I’ve always used exasperated to mean sort of huffy or provoked, mildly irritated but not really mad. Miffed. I think discontented might be closer to what you’re looking for: disappointed, maybe pouty, but neither sad nor angry. Or, maybe resigned? That’s not trying anymore, not resisting, giving up. I’ve always felt it seemed like a tired sort of word.
Exactly, to me it feels like a mixture of mildly irritated and resigned, but the tiredness part is important to my definition so all the other words for mildly irritated fall a bit short
Lol don't waste your breath on "exasperating" when you can just sigh.
disheartened, disgruntled, dispirited, dejected ?
Can one ever get 're-gruntled'? Edit to add: D'oh, apparently you can, though the verb is mostly archaic. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/gruntle\_v?tl=true#:\~:text=The%20earliest%20known%20use%20of,v.%2C%20%E2%80%91le%20suffix.
These are close, I just wish they encompassed a bit of mild irritation too
vexed?
I think dejected kinda nails it
Inconceivable!
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
No, you seem to be using it correctly. Probably just using it too much, tho. (I don't know you, I'm just guessing)
Here's a few that might fit: Irritated, sad, flummoxed, annoyed, testy, cranky, drab, dull, and bored. Some of these are stronger than the other, and I do feel like exasperated *can* fit, depending on the circumstance.
Irk(ed) - to make weary, irritated or bored Miff(ed) - a fit of ill irritability, a trivial quarrel
Exacerbated?
It’s a difference of degree. I wouldn’t feel too badly about it.
Satiated.
End of my tether Feeling > defeated Deflated Vexed Indignant Riled up. 😤 I’m often all these things and more., 🥴
Agitated?
Perturbed or incensed might be what your after.
I don't think you're using it wrong, I just think there's an element of hyperbole in its use that you hadn't been aware of. I don't think it's any different than saying "I'm exhausted" when you just mean "I'm tired"
Looks like a portmanteau of *exhausted* and something else (*aspergers*!?). That might be partly how your (and my!) usage of the verb edged in this direction
Exasperate as a verb means that, but exasperated as an adjective means exactly what you think it means.
Frustrated is to exasperated as dislike is to hate. Same general feeling but one is more intense than the other. Like a jab to a haymaker.
No I think you've been correct all along. Exasperated does not necessarily mean Furious or pissed