exasperated

American

[ig-zas-puh-rey-tid] / ɪgˈzæs pəˌreɪ tɪd /

adjective

feeling or expressing extreme annoyance or irritation.

In the final moments of a wild debate, the exasperated moderator tried to regain control of the conversation.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of exasperate.

Other Word Forms

exasperatedly adverb
unexasperated adjective

Etymology

Origin of exasperated

exasperate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

It’s understandable if you get exasperated, or really frustrated, if you’re standing in the supermarket's express lane and everyone in front of you has way more than the 10-item maximum. Over the centuries, nothing much has happened to the definition of this word — the Latin original means "irritated to anger." Speaking of which, let's get back to the supermarket, a veritable hotbed of exasperated people pushing wobbly-wheeled shopping carts their children try to fill with cartoon-branded junk food, brushing past unstable store displays that come tumbling down, enduring inoffensive but flavorless supermarket music, and emerging into the cold light of day unable to remember where they parked the car.

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Vocabulary lists containing exasperated

The Giver

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

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Number the Stars

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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.

He launched his campaign in the summer of 2025 with a viral ad that jolted life into a beleaguered coalition of exasperated liberals and lapsed progressives.

From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026

In America, the lasting image of the time is of cars and exasperated drivers waiting for hours in fuel lines.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

But the cyclops can’t solve the simplest of riddles and the increasingly exasperated maidens, who’ll be free once a riddle is solved, can’t get them to stop approaching the cave or from making terrible guesses.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 8, 2026

Lara, the regulator, appears exasperated by some insurers’ reluctance to re-enter the market, despite getting pretty much everything on their wish list.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

“I am...not a new sort of high-class mortician,” Elizebeth found herself explaining, with exasperated humor.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023