The phrase "aggravate matters" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing a situation that is being made worse or more complicated by someone's actions or decisions.
Example: "His refusal to apologize only served to aggravate matters between the two parties."
Alternatives: "exacerbate the situation" or "complicate things further."
Nigeria's government and the delta oil companies say, with some justification, that local residents aggravate matters.
The union's trade commissioner, Pascal Lamy, criticized the tariffs on Wednesday, saying they "will not only not provide a solution, but aggravate matters".
To aggravate matters, the dominant crop is cotton, which is particularly thirsty.So as rivers travel down the region and water gets diverted for irrigation, their flow gradually turns into a trickle.
On those days when I felt overwhelmed by the subcontinent, I swore I'd never succumb to the lunacy of Manmad, or aggravate matters further by getting off in Mania, and I feared that if I detrained at Miraj, it would disappear.
Countries such as France, which demand a much greater degree of integration, are similarly plagued by extremism.All these factors aggravate matters but only by reinforcing the underlying ideology that blames the ills of the Muslim world on the nefarious actions of the West.
In some cases, the better the product sells, the higher the fees and worse the clients may end up doing.To aggravate matters, fund managers can find that intermediaries churn funds as they seek to generate income from their clients, causing assets to disappear as fast as they arrive.
Furthermore, the interaction of hunger and AIDS aggravates matters.
Aggravating matters were a low birthrate and demographic changes afflicting all of rural Japan.
In recent months, the spike in fuel prices has aggravated matters, raising some drivers' diesel bills by $100 a week.
I agree with Mr. Corning that our corporate tax rules already distort investment decisions; I also agree that lowering taxes on capital gains only aggravates matters.
Now, with a mediocre poll lead and an increasingly ugly spat about union involvement in the Falkirk selection aggravating matters, it appears the battle was merely deferred.
