irk

[urk]

verb (used with object)

1. to irritate, annoy, or exasperate.

   It irked him to wait in line.

   Synonyms: tire, bother, fret, chafe

irk

/ ɜːk /

verb

1. (tr) to irritate, vex, or annoy

Word History and Origins

Origin of irk¹

1300–50; Middle English irken to grow tired, tire < Old Norse yrkja to work, cognate with Old English wyrcan; work

Word History and Origins

Origin of irk¹

C13 irken to grow weary; probably related to Old Norse yrkja to work

Example Sentences

England matches at Wembley can often be so quiet and the paper-plane throwing there that irked Southgate throughout his time in charge is still very much a thing.

Read more on BBC

The carrier earlier this year froze rates for a swath of its customers for three years in a bid to hold on to cellphone users irked by years of price rises.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Beijing then publicized the remark in an official account of the call without U.S. permission, the people said, which irked Rubio.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Clearly, this decision was designed to irk them rather than serve Bad Bunny’s millions and millions of fans.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The boisterous buzz makes it an essential part of the day for fans, who arrive in morning darkness to stake their spot, while latecomers, irked at missing out, slope off down the fairway.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• annoy 
• bother 
• disturb 
• gall 
• inconvenience 
• irritate 
• peeve 
• provoke 
• rile 
• vex