In the world of personal injury law, it is essential to distinguish between exacerbation and aggravation. Though they sound similar, these terms have very different meanings. Exacerbation temporarily worsens symptoms, while aggravation is a permanent escalation of your existing condition
This is an un-academic blog post about Australian law intended to convince people to pursue a personal injury claim with this law firm. Excuse my directness, but what on Earth is this doing on HN? I actually cannot think of a single online community where this would be a relevant thing to post stand-alone and not in the context of some discussion in the comments.
That seems to be the opposite of how I am used to using those words. The phrase 'America was already facing deep divides, and the supreme courts actions only exacerbates the problem' I would take to mean a permanent escalation. But 'I get so aggravated when I get people throw rubbish by my house' I would take to mean a temporary thing.