annoying
Americanadjective
Usage
What does annoying mean? Annoying is an adjective that’s used to describe someone or something that annoys you—bothers or irritates you.The word implies that the resulting irritation does not rise to the level of serious harm or a major problem—even if someone or something is extremely annoying.People who are annoying are usually engaging in some kind of irritating and unwanted behavior (especially when it’s repeated), such as chewing too loudly or asking you the same question over and over again. Things that are annoying are often those that distract, interrupt, or intrude on what you’re trying to do, like a noise that keeps waking you up when you’re trying to fall asleep or a pop-up ad.Someone or something that’s annoying can be called an annoyance. The adjective annoyed is used to describe someone who is bothered in this way.Example: Mom, Jeff is being so annoying! He keeps humming!
Other Word Forms
- annoyingly adverb
- annoyingness noun
- half-annoying adjective
- half-annoyingly adverb
- unannoying adjective
- unannoyingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of annoying
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 legal headaches might be annoying enough that Tesla might want to buy the other company off.”
The Clyburns embody all that is annoying to a certain constituency of Americans.
“But it was funny when you said I like sci.fi and robotics because I wish I could program a robot to be my friend since I’m too annoying for any human to put up with?”
From Literature
Sure, that means annoying stuff — like an endless barrage of aggressive targeted advertising — but also has darker intonations.
From Salon
At its best, “Hoppers” is mildly amusing, but that aspect barely covers for the deficiencies of its lead character, who is mildly annoying.
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.
