irritate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to excite to impatience or anger; annoy.
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Physiology, Biology. to excite (a living system) to some characteristic action or function.
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Pathology. to bring (a body part) to an abnormally excited or sensitive condition.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to annoy or anger (someone)
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(tr) biology to stimulate (an organism or part) to respond in a characteristic manner
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(tr) pathol to cause (a bodily organ or part) to become excessively stimulated, resulting in inflammation, tenderness, etc
Related Words
Irritate, exasperate, provoke mean to annoy or stir to anger. To irritate is to excite to impatience or angry feeling, often of no great depth or duration: to irritate by refusing to explain an action. To exasperate is to irritate to a point where self-control is threatened or lost: to exasperate by continual delays and excuses. To provoke is to stir to a sudden, strong feeling of resentful anger as by unwarrantable acts or wanton annoyance: to tease and provoke an animal until it attacks.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irritate
1525–35; < Latin irrītātus, past participle of irrītāre to arouse to anger, excite, aggravate, equivalent to irritā- v. stem + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
To irritate is to cause an unsettling reaction, whether it's of the body or the nerves. You can irritate someone by talking too loudly on your cellphone in public. You can also irritate your skin, causing a rash or redness. To irritate is to disturb — either physically or psychologically. When you have an allergic reaction to something, you irritate or disturb the body. When you have an allergic reaction to your kid brother, he is probably irritating you with his annoying habits. And what is the result of something irritating? An irritation of course.
Vocabulary lists containing irritate
Because of Winn-Dixie
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Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Achievement First 6th Grade IA 1 Words
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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.
Irritate other shoppers by watching a few long YouTube clips or something.
From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2013
You Irritate Me So, This Is Where Love Walked In, Honey in the Honeycomb, as well as more recognizable show tunes and the kind of attractive oldies that always seem to avoid being predictable.
From Time Magazine Archive
Tottenham is playing Arsenal but you switch to Hawaii Five-O, ’cause watching futbolwill only Irritate you, remind you of what you’re missing.
From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander
Irritate and worry as much as you can.
From The Fortunes Of Glencore by Lever, Charles James
Irritate the fellow, I beg you, as much as you can.
From The Letters of Cicero, Volume 1 The Whole Extant Correspodence in Chronological Order by Shuckburgh, Evelyn S.
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.
