Dictionary.com

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.

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Origin of irritable

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin irrītābilis, equivalent to irrītā(re) “to irritate ” + -bilis -ble

synonym study for irritable

1. 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.

OTHER WORDS FROM irritable

Words nearby irritable

irrigate, irrigation, irrigative, irriguous, irritability, irritable, irritable bowel syndrome, irritable heart, irritant, irritate, irritated
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to irritable

contentious, testy, petulant, resentful, fractious, surly, annoyed, prickly, exasperated, cantankerous, carping, choleric, complaining, cross, crotchety, disputatious, dissatisfied, dyspeptic, fiery, fretful

Example sentences from the Web for irritable

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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.