Aggravation, in law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime

Crime

Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...

 or tort

Tort

A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...

 which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself."

Aggravated assault, for example, is usually differentiated from simple assault by the offender's intent (e.g., to murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 or to rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

), the extent of injury to the victim, or the use of a deadly weapon

Deadly weapon

A deadly weapon, sometimes dangerous weapon, is a statutory definition listing certain items which can inflict mortal or great bodily harm. In addition, deadly weapon statutes often contain "catch all" provisions which describe abilities used to designate other implements as deadly weapons.Whether...

. An aggravating circumstance is a kind of attendant circumstance

Attendant circumstance

Attendant circumstance is a legal concept which Black's Law Dictionary defines as the "facts surrounding an event."...

 and the opposite of an extenuating

Extenuating circumstances

In law, extenuating circumstances in criminal cases are unusual or extreme facts leading up to or attending the commission of the offense which, though an offense has been committed without legal justification or excuse, mitigate or reduce its gravity from the point of view of punishment or moral...

or mitigating circumstance, which decreases guilt.