His complaints only aggravated the problem.

aggravated 是动词 aggravate 的过去式。aggravate 由前缀 ag-（表示"加强"）和词根 grav（来自拉丁语 gravis，意为"沉重"）组成，字面意思是"使更沉重"，引申为"使恶化、加剧"。