加剧

• Pinyin: jiā jù
• Hanzi breakdown: 加 = 力 + 口 (strength + mouth — add force); 剧 = 豕 + 刀 (wild animal + knife — cutting intensely; severe)

Meaning

To worsen; to aggravate; to intensify (a negative situation or process). Used for deterioration or escalation of a problem, conflict, or condition.

Almost always used for worsening situations. Appears in formal reports on social problems, environmental crises, medical deterioration, and geopolitical tensions. Not used for positive intensification.

Examples

1. 持续高温天气加剧了当地的旱情，农作物减产问题愈发严峻。 The prolonged high temperatures have worsened the local drought, making the problem of reduced crop yields even more severe.
2. 双方立场的分歧不断加剧，和平谈判的前景也因此愈发渺茫。 The differences in the two sides' positions have continued to intensify, making the prospects for peace talks even dimmer.
3. 长期熬夜和饮食不规律加剧了他的胃病，医生建议他立即调整生活方式。 Staying up late for a long time and eating irregularly aggravated his stomach condition, and the doctor advised him to change his lifestyle immediately.

Usage Guide

Context: news, medicine, environment, social issues

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 全球范围内贫富差距的持续扩大加剧了社会矛盾，各国政府面临的治理压力也随之与日俱增。(The continued widening of the wealth gap globally has exacerbated social contradictions, and the governance pressures faced by governments around the world have grown accordingly.)
• 极端气候事件频发加剧了粮食安全形势的不稳定性，对全球农业生产体系构成了前所未有的严峻挑战。(The increased frequency of extreme climate events has intensified the instability of food security, posing unprecedented and grave challenges to the global agricultural production system.)

Don't Say

• 加剧 is almost exclusively negative. Do not use it for neutral or positive intensification — use 增强 or 加强 instead. 矛盾加剧 is correct; do not say 感情加剧 to mean 'feelings deepening'

Origin & History

加 (to add; increase) + 剧 (intense; severe)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal