irritate
Americanverb (used with object)
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irritates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
irritated,
past participle, past
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irritating
present participle
-
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)
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irritates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
irritated,
past participle, past
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irritating
present participle
verb
-
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
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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irritatesimple
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irritatessimple
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have irritatedperfect
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has irritatedperfect
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am irritatingprogressive
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are irritatingprogressive
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is irritatingprogressive
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have been irritatingperfect progressive
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has been irritatingperfect progressive
Past
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irritatedsimple
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had irritatedperfect
-
was irritatingprogressive
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were irritatingprogressive
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had been irritatingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
To irritate is to cause an unsettling reaction, whether it's of the body or the nerves. You can irritate someone by talking too loudly on your cellphone in public. You can also irritate your skin, causing a rash or redness. To irritate is to disturb — either physically or psychologically. When you have an allergic reaction to something, you irritate or disturb the body. When you have an allergic reaction to your kid brother, he is probably irritating you with his annoying habits. And what is the result of something irritating? An irritation of course.
Vocabulary lists containing irritate
Because of Winn-Dixie
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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.
See Examples For:
More skincare products aren't necessarily better A complicated routine with frequent exfoliations or strong acids can irritate young skin.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Volcanic ash can pose health concerns because it may irritate the respiratory system, eyes, and skin.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
A 4-2 defeat to Real Sociedad on Tuesday will irritate their perfectionist head coach, but there is plenty of time for him to fine-tune the Europa League holders before the start of the new campaign.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Short-term exposure can irritate the lungs and nasal passages, and cause nausea and dizziness, said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, Orange County’s health officer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
This would irritate my father, who could not stand any noise, especially when he was tired from work, which was most of the time.
From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez
But when it goes away, so do our nightly doses of Colbert’s affable clowning, the kind that irritates thin-skinned despots in a way other comics can’t quite match.
From Salon ● May 21, 2026
B.J. irritates the other characters with yet another drum solo, the self-aware jokes about his self-centeredness would land better if “K-Pops!” wasn’t convinced that the audience wants as much of him on-screen as possible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
‘How do you come up with things to write about?” a young George Will once asked William F. Buckley Jr. That’s easy, said the National Review founder, “the world irritates me three times a week.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
Traditional oral iron supplements can help, but they often leave behind unabsorbed iron that irritates the digestive tract and triggers inflammation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 20, 2025
Marv admires his own humor and still persists with the key, which irritates me no end.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
"Inevitably a muscle or ligament gets stretched and a bit irritated," he says.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
In interviews, dozens of farmworkers reported suffering from nausea, burning eyes or irritated throats due to chemical-laced fields.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Canada's regional leaders said the United States has been particularly irritated by one retaliatory measure: the removal of US alcohol and wine from liquor stores.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
One imagines irritated Michigan Wolverines burning checkbooks and disavowing money-market accounts as they drink their spritzes at Ann Arbor tailgates—but inside Columbus, this is like getting to sponsor religion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Mrs. Bessermann is irritated because Siunek pays too much attention to Cesia.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
“It was real skinny, real wiry, real kind of irritating actually; listening to it almost hurt your head,” Wagoner said in Stephen Miller’s “Smart Blonde: The Life of Dolly Parton.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
After a rough start, including a run-in with an irritating policeman, she lands at the home of a baker, Osono, who gives her a place to stay in exchange for labor and her delivery services.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
They said the coverage of the Instagram re-post row had been "deeply irritating" but added that the review was not directly linked to that incident.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Letisha Lucas, a 33-year-old tourist from Canada -- which has its own wildfires happening -- said the smoke smell was immediately obvious on arrival in Madrid "and very irritating on the throat".
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
My therapist was Mary Fernandez, and I found her probing irritating.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
