irritate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to excite to impatience or anger; annoy.
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Physiology, Biology. to excite (a living system) to some characteristic action or function.
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Pathology. to bring (a body part) to an abnormally excited or sensitive condition.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to annoy or anger (someone)
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(tr) biology to stimulate (an organism or part) to respond in a characteristic manner
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(tr) pathol to cause (a bodily organ or part) to become excessively stimulated, resulting in inflammation, tenderness, etc
Related Words
Irritate, exasperate, provoke mean to annoy or stir to anger. To irritate is to excite to impatience or angry feeling, often of no great depth or duration: to irritate by refusing to explain an action. To exasperate is to irritate to a point where self-control is threatened or lost: to exasperate by continual delays and excuses. To provoke is to stir to a sudden, strong feeling of resentful anger as by unwarrantable acts or wanton annoyance: to tease and provoke an animal until it attacks.
Other Word Forms
- irritator noun
Etymology
Origin of irritate
1525–35; < Latin irrītātus, past participle of irrītāre to arouse to anger, excite, aggravate, equivalent to irritā- v. stem + -tus past participle suffix
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.
That kind of dust is known to irritate the airways making it easier for bacteria to go from harmlessly sitting there to invading the body.
From BBC
My mom, irritated, honked the horn, and my dad stepped on the gas.
From Los Angeles Times
Before I became an author, I would get irritated whenever I encountered that sort of representation.
From Los Angeles Times
When Laura insists on returning to Berlin, the impatient, irritated boyfriend reluctantly agrees to drive her back to the train station.
From Los Angeles Times
The delay has irritated Chinese officials who are eager to hold the summit.
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.
