irritable
Americanadjective
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easily irritated or annoyed; readily excited to impatience or anger.
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Physiology, Biology. displaying irritability.
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Pathology. susceptible to physical irritation.
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Medicine/Medical. abnormally sensitive to a stimulus.
adjective
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quickly irritated; easily annoyed; peevish
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(of all living organisms) capable of responding to such stimuli as heat, light, and touch
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pathol abnormally sensitive
Synonym Usage
Irritable, testy, touchy, irascible are adjectives meaning easily upset, offended, or angered. Irritable means easily annoyed or bothered, and it implies cross and snappish behavior: an irritable clerk, rude and hostile; Impatient and irritable, he was constantly complaining. Testy describes the same kind of behavior or response, particularly to minor annoyances: always on edge, testy and sharp in response; testy and petulant, resenting any interruption. Touchy emphasizes oversensitivity and readiness to take offense, even when none is intended: especially touchy about any reference to obesity. Irascible means habitually angry or easily aroused to anger: an irascible tyrant, roaring at employees for the slightest error.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of irritable
First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin irrītābilis, equivalent to irrītā(re) “to irritate ” + -bilis -ble
Explanation
If you're feeling on edge, like the smallest thing could bother you or make you lose your temper, you are irritable. Did I say something wrong? Irritable means "easy to irritate or bother." If you have irritable skin, you get a rash from just about anything. An irritable person is not easy-going and often not very easy to be around. You might feel like you're "walking on eggshells," or being extra careful not to upset your brother when he's in an irritable mood. Is there anything I can do to make you less irritable? Fetch your favorite blanket? Maybe I'll just go away now.
Vocabulary lists containing irritable
Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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Esperanza Rising
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Among the Hidden
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The quiet and irritable TV editor I met at Guelaguetza on Olympic Boulevard.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2026
Several Manhattan private-school parents said another key to getting extra time—and unlimited bathroom breaks—is enlisting a gastroenterologist to diagnose inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
"I could tell my dopamine was shot because I was irritable and didn't want to answer basic questions about my day."
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
Selina had been so concerned about her daughter she asked for a blood test; doctors thought she must have irritable bowel syndrome.
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026
It requires that she work the higher-paying twelve-hour night shifts that keep her away from her family for long stretches and leave her tired and irritable when she’s with them.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
