annoy
Americanverb (used with object)
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annoys,
present (3rd person singular)
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annoyed,
past participle, past
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annoying
present participle
verb (used without object)
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annoys,
present (3rd person singular)
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annoyed,
past participle, past
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annoying
present participle
noun
verb
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to irritate or displease
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to harass with repeated attacks
Usage
What does annoy mean? Annoy means to bother or irritate. 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 annoys you very much. People usually annoy through 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 annoy 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 who is bothered in this way can be described as annoyed. Someone or something that annoys you can be described as annoying. Someone or something that annoys you can be called an annoyance. Less commonly, annoy means to harass. In this case, the results are more serious than the more common meaning of annoy. Example: Mom, Jeff is trying to annoy me again! He keeps humming!
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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annoysimple
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annoyssimple
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have annoyedperfect
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has annoyedperfect
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am annoyingprogressive
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are annoyingprogressive
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is annoyingprogressive
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have been annoyingperfect progressive
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has been annoyingperfect progressive
Past
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annoyedsimple
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had annoyedperfect
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was annoyingprogressive
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were annoyingprogressive
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had been annoyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of annoy
First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the verb) Middle English an(n)oien, enoien, from Anglo-French, Old French anoier, anuier “to molest, harm, tire,” from Late Latin inodiāre “to cause aversion,” from Latin phrase (mihi) in odiō (est) “I dislike,” literally, “(it is) in hate (to me)”; cf. in- 2, odium; (for the noun) Middle English a(n)noi, ennoi, from Anglo-French, Old French a(n)nui, enui, derivative of the verb ( cf. ennui ( def. ))
Explanation
The verb annoy means to bother or irritate. Your habit of constantly talking about your cats might annoy your friends more than you realize. When you annoy someone, you really rub them the wrong way. Often, the things that annoy people the most are those that are repeated again and again, like your habit of snorting every time you laugh or the screeching sound that your dishwasher makes day after day. Although the word annoy comes from the Latin phrase esse in odio, "it is hateful to me," its meaning now is less "hateful" and more "bothersome."
Vocabulary lists containing annoy
Beowulf vocabulary
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Anger (verb)
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The Sound and the Fury: Synonyms for "Anger"
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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.
See Examples For:
"It doesn't annoy me. I get that they do need to get what they can because it's a short career and they have to look after themselves."
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Then I asked the AI to develop a new set of guidelines for future chats, so that it would be less likely to annoy me in those specific ways.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Some days, these meetings annoy me so much that I want to quit.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
He traced this instinct to challenge those systems back to Socrates’ “gadfly” — the person whose job was to annoy power.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
“Why you annoy with old woman? Hai, I remember butter now. I fry vegetable in butter for one week. That very good week. Not best week ever, but very good.”
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
It may be that this money, frankly, annoys you.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
In the United Kingdom, existing laws ban "anti-social behaviour" on trains and stations, including using "sound-producing equipment" without permission if it annoys others.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
That is the kind of talk that annoys Meyer, who noted the San Diego Padres used to take from the revenue-sharing fund and now pay into it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
Other topics we look at include the growing health risk for people under 55, family money meetings and the corporate jargon that annoys you most.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 28, 2026
ALBUS: You know what annoys me most of all?
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
Nor is it loud and dry like that of a severely under-caffeinated customer who’s annoyed that the barista is holding up the line to chat with a regular.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
Get annoyed that breakfast had somehow become a decision I needed to make before coffee.
From Salon ● Sep. 22, 2026
Players get annoyed, but they put up with it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
“You just kind of get annoyed and exhausted, because you think it’s an opportunity and it really isn’t,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
My parents would only get annoyed at me.
From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan
If so, I’ll defer to what my father told me was mine: asking annoying questions.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Sorry to use the most annoying phrase in the journalistic world, but: It depends.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
She told detectives she left the puppy at a park because it had been annoying her boyfriend by biting on his shoes and belongings, according to department spokesperson Natalie Garcia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Not scoring against Slovenia was annoying; not scoring against Switzerland - in the circumstances - was understandable; not scoring and winning in Skopje would be a horrible outcome.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
She turned up her hands in a very annoying way.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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.
