Task 2 寫「這個政策讓問題更嚴重」、「這個現象加劇了不平等」時，考生反覆寫 make worse / make it more serious——又長又口語。一個字搞定：exacerbate。

字義

Exacerbate (v.) — to make a problem, situation, or negative feeling worse than it already is.

關鍵：***exacerbate* 只用在已經負面的事**——不能 exacerbate happiness（要寫 enhance）。

5 個 Band 7+ 例句

  1. Cutting public transport budgets will only exacerbate urban congestion.
  2. Social media tends to exacerbate political polarisation rather than ease it.
  3. Drought has exacerbated existing food shortages in the region.
  4. Ignoring early warning signs often exacerbates the eventual crisis.
  5. The new tax may exacerbate inequality between high and low earners.

常見錯誤

搭配限制：exacerbate 接負面對象——problem, inequality, tensions, congestion, crisis, shortage。別寫 exacerbate the economy（太中性）；要 exacerbate economic problems。

拼字陷阱：exacerbate——中間是 c 不是 s。考生最常拼成 exasarbate。

Register 偏書面：Speaking Part 1 用 exacerbate 太嚴肅；Task 2 議題段、Part 3 思辨題才上場。

同等級替換（Band 7+）

  • Worsen — Long-term unemployment worsens mental-health outcomes.（更中性、最安全）
  • Aggravate — Poor sleep aggravates chronic pain.（更強調「激化」）

試試看

下次 Task 2 議題段，把 this makes the problem worse 換成 this exacerbates the problem——一個字 Band 7+。

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