irritable

[ ir-i-tuh-buhl ]

/ ˈɪr ɪ tə bəl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR irritable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

easily irritated or annoyed; readily excited to impatience or anger.

Physiology, Biology. displaying irritability.

Pathology. susceptible to physical irritation.

Medicine/Medical. abnormally sensitive to a stimulus.

Words nearby irritable

irrigate, irrigation, irrigative, irriguous, irritability, irritable, irritable bowel syndrome, irritable heart, irritant, irritate, irritated

Origin of irritable

1655–65; < Latin irrītābilis, equivalent to irrītā(re) to irritate + -bilis -ble

SYNONYMS FOR irritable

1 snappish, petulant, resentful. Irritable, testy, touchy, irascible are adjectives meaning easily upset, offended, or angered. Irritable means easily annoyed or bothered, and it implies cross and snappish behavior: an irritable clerk, rude and hostile; Impatient and irritable, he was constantly complaining. Testy describes the same kind of behavior or response, particularly to minor annoyances: always on edge, testy and sharp in response; testy and petulant, resenting any interruption. Touchy emphasizes oversensitivity and readiness to take offense, even when none is intended: especially touchy about any reference to obesity. Irascible means habitually angry or easily aroused to anger: an irascible tyrant, roaring at employees for the slightest error.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR irritable ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM irritable

ir·ri·ta·ble·ness, nounir·ri·ta·bly, adverbnon·ir·ri·ta·ble, adjectivenon·ir·ri·ta·ble·ness, noun

non·ir·ri·ta·bly, adverbun·ir·ri·ta·ble, adjectiveun·ir·ri·ta·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for irritable

Take, for example, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that affects some 15 percent of Americans.
Clinton Doc: This Is How We’ll Fix Health Care|Daniela Drake|June 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But new research shows it is indeed real, and may be the cause of asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, and more.
New Research Shows Poorly Understood “Leaky Gut Syndrome” Is Real, May Be the Cause of Several Diseases|Daniela Drake|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She was irritable and ornery almost all of the time, and she seemed to be trying to distance herself from the others.
Inside Tania Head’s Terrible 9/11 Lie: ‘The Woman Who Wasn’t There’|Robin Gaby Fisher, Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr.|April 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
And he came across as irritable and snarky when asked to provide a succinct answer on how to address health care.
Newt Gingrich Will Be Everyone's Target on the Next Debate|Mark McKinnon|December 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Like alcoholics, gambling addicts are often secretive, irritable, and unable to cut back.
Are You a Gambling Addict?|Kate Dailey|April 3, 2011|DAILY BEAST
It was very hot, and she was beginning to feel just a wee bit faint and hungry and irritable.
The Sick-a-Bed Lady|Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
Overbearing to those he distrusted, irritable among shams, he was charity itself to real merit and to the poor.
The Incendiary|W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
She was silent save when she was irritable, indifferent except when exacting.
Res Judicat|Augustine Birrell
Irritable in the hotel hall, he perceived that this "friendship" threatened his holiday with a disastrous end.
To Tell You the Truth|Leonard Merrick
He hated the long nights and days, and he grew more and more savage and irritable.
Little Lord Fauntleroy|Frances Hodgson Burnett

British Dictionary definitions for irritable

irritable

/ (ˈɪrɪtəbəl) /

adjective

quickly irritated; easily annoyed; peevish

(of all living organisms) capable of responding to such stimuli as heat, light, and touch

pathol abnormally sensitive

Derived forms of irritable

irritability, nounirritableness, nounirritably, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for irritable

irritable

[ ĭr′ĭ-tə-bəl ]

adj.

Capable of reacting to a stimulus.

Abnormally sensitive to a stimulus.

irritable

adjective

Words related to irritable

Words nearby irritable

Origin of irritable

SYNONYMS FOR irritable

OTHER WORDS FROM irritable

Examples from the Web for irritable

British Dictionary definitions for irritable

adjective

Derived forms of irritable

Medical definitions for irritable

adj.