Exacerbate
Etymology
From Latin “exacerbare,” to irritate or embitter, from “ex-” (thoroughly) and “acerbus” (harsh, bitter), itself from “acer,” sharp — the same root that gives us acrid and acute. So to exacerbate is to sharpen a bitterness that already existed.
verb · /ig-ZAS-er-bayt/
To make an already bad situation worse.
What it names
Aggravation specifically — a worsening applied to something that was already a problem, not the creation of a new one.
Example
Cutting the support staff exacerbated the very backlog it was meant to save money on.
Related idea
To exacerbate is to worsen an existing ill; to undermine is to weaken something sound from beneath. One deepens a wound; the other digs under a foundation.