irritate
verb (used with object)
to excite to impatience or anger; annoy.
had been irritating
-
past perfect progressiveof irritate.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Meg's behaviour that day had been irritating to the last degree.
From All Men are Ghosts by L. P. (Lawrence Pearsall) Jacks
Hawes had been irritating their wounded vanity in order to get them up to this mark.
From It Is Never Too Late to Mend by Charles Reade
They had been irritating him all day, till he had been atrociously rude to them.
From The Helpmate by May Sinclair
To Roland these delays had been irritating in the extreme, but now he thought he saw the end of them, and had made up his mind to start early next month.
From Dorrien of Cranston by Bertram Mitford
Furthermore, that morning the gaping alligator also suggested the countenance of the open-mouthed Files whom Britt had just left in the dining room, and Files had been irritating.
From When Egypt Went Broke by Holman Day
