irritable
Americanadjective
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easily irritated or annoyed; readily excited to impatience or anger.
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Physiology, Biology. displaying irritability.
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Pathology. susceptible to physical irritation.
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Medicine/Medical. abnormally sensitive to a stimulus.
adjective
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quickly irritated; easily annoyed; peevish
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(of all living organisms) capable of responding to such stimuli as heat, light, and touch
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pathol abnormally sensitive
Synonym Usage
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 Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irritable
First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin irrītābilis, equivalent to irrītā(re) “to irritate ” + -bilis -ble
Explanation
If you're feeling on edge, like the smallest thing could bother you or make you lose your temper, you are irritable. Did I say something wrong? Irritable means "easy to irritate or bother." If you have irritable skin, you get a rash from just about anything. An irritable person is not easy-going and often not very easy to be around. You might feel like you're "walking on eggshells," or being extra careful not to upset your brother when he's in an irritable mood. Is there anything I can do to make you less irritable? Fetch your favorite blanket? Maybe I'll just go away now.
Vocabulary lists containing irritable
Curmudgeon, Cantankerous and Churlish: Grouchy Words
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Esperanza Rising
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Among the Hidden
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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.
U.S. drugmaker Merck is likely to be the first, with late-stage data on its tulisokibart drug candidate for irritable bowel disease due next year, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
They’re irritable with their loved ones, can’t concentrate, and can’t seem to keep thoughts in their heads.
From Salon ● Jun. 14, 2026
I’m worried it’s going to make people irritable and ruin the trip.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026
But Maguire, now 43, became sad and irritable, and didn’t want to be around his newborn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
Maxim had seemed almost irritable when he suggested we should go into the garden.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
