irk
[urk]
- to irritate, annoy, or exasperate: It irked him to wait in line.
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Origin of irk
1300–50; Middle English irken to grow tired, tire < Old Norse yrkja to work, cognate with Old English wyrcan; see work
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
annoydisturbpeevebotherinconvenienceirritaterilevexgallprovokerufflemiffbugnettleharassincommodeabraderaspdiscommodetroubleExamples from the Web for irked
Contemporary Examples
Possibly Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Rogozin to be irked.
In 2009 he published a book defaming Hitchens and Richard Dawkins because he was irked by their bellicose brand of atheism.
Sure, Cruz recently irked fellow Senate Republicans by dissing them as “squishes” on gun control.
The particular reform that irked Conkling was the then-novel proposal to eliminate patronage in federal civil service hiring.
But some are irked by the extensive political posturing around rape, notably survivors and rape-crisis-center workers.
Richard Mourdock’s Comment Furthers Use of Rape to Win Election, Advocates ChargeAllison Yarrow
October 25, 2012
Historical Examples
But he felt he had to conceal something from her, and it irked him.
Sons and LoversDavid Herbert Lawrence
It was soon seen, too, that just as he irked her, so she disparaged him—an open road to others.
On the StairsHenry B. Fuller
He continued pacing to and fro, irked by his predicament, frowning with thought.
Counsel for the DefenseLeroy Scott
After the humiliation of what had been said it irked Tabs to have to see him pay it.
The Kingdom Round the CornerConingsby Dawson
He shook himself, as though his clothes, perhaps his body even, irked him.
The Bright MessengerAlgernon Blackwood
irk
- (tr) to irritate, vex, or annoy
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Word Origin
C13 irken to grow weary; probably related to Old Norse yrkja to work
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for irked
irk
v.
mid-15c., irken "be weary of, be disgusted with;" earlier intransitive, "to feel weary" (early 14c.). Of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Old Norse yrkja "work" (from PIE root *werg- "to work;" see urge (v.)), or Middle High German erken "to disgust." Modern sense of "annoy" is from late 15c. An adjective, irk "weary, tired" is attested from c.1300 in northern and midlands writing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper