# Aggravate
This article is about the monster spell and effect. For the property, see aggravate monster.
Aggravate is a monster spell and effect of certain actions that alerts monsters to your presence. It wakes up all monsters on the level and has a one-fifth chance of unparalyzing each paralyzed monster. It also clears the meditating state that certain monsters start in. The associated message is:

"You feel that monsters are aware of your presence."[1]
This can be caused many ways:

a monster using the aggravate monster spell
the Wizard of Yendor's harassment
hearing a shrieker shriek
quaffing a cursed potion of invisibility
turning undead while your god is angry, while in Gehennom, or while polymorphed into undead with lawful or neutral alignment
sitting on a throne (occasionally)
failing to read a spellbook (occasionally)
A cursed potion of monster detection also awakens and unparalyzes monsters, but it doesn't clear the meditating state.
Monsters can also be affected when drinking a cursed potion of invisibility or being affected by the shrieker (only with conflict or pet shrieker). When this happens (nearly always by drinking the potion of invisibility), you will be shown the monster's location and receive the messages:

"For some reason, 

<monster> presence is known to you." "You feel aggravated at <monster>."[2]
On Wizard's Tower levels, the effect of aggravate will only affect monsters on the same side of the tower as you: if you are outside the tower, aggravate will not affect monsters inside the tower, and vice versa.[3]

Strategy
You may want to deliberately cause the aggravate effect in order to remotely wake up a meditating covetous monster while you are standing on the upstair (or downladder in Vlad's or the Wizard's towers), in order to prevent the covetous monster from escaping.  In general, this is most easily done with a cursed potion of invisibility.  In Gehennom (which excludes Vlad's Tower), Knights and Priests may turn undead to aggravate unique demons and the Wizard of Yendor.

References

↑ src/mcastu.c in NetHack 3.6.6, line 429

↑ src/muse.c in NetHack 3.6.6, line 1990

↑ src/wizard.c in NetHack 3.6.6, line 485

</monster></monster>