irritating
- causing irritation; annoying; provoking: irritating questions.
Origin of irritating
irritate
- to excite to impatience or anger; annoy.
- Physiology, Biology. to excite (a living system) to some characteristic action or function.
- Pathology. to bring (a body part) to an abnormally excited or sensitive condition.
- to cause irritation or become irritated.
Origin of irritate
Synonyms for irritate
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Examples from the Web for irritating
Contemporary Examples of irritating
It reminds me of an uncle of mine who said the London Blitz was irritating.
This strain of enterovirus seems unusually provocative in irritating lower airways, thereby causing airway narrowing.
It is such an irritating movie that it has had the effect of clarifying, once and for all, why Braff himself is bothersome.
At first it was irritating, but then it became fascinating and finally fun to see.
I Was Way Too Old for Z100’s Jingle Ball Concert. But I Couldn’t Have Had More Fun.Kevin Fallon
December 14, 2013
Both characters manage to spin what could be irritating quirks into identifiable character traits.
The Best TV Shows of 2013: ‘Orange Is the New Black,’ ‘Breaking Bad’ and MoreKevin Fallon
December 13, 2013
Historical Examples of irritating
It would be irritating, if you didn't secretly feel the same yourself.
It Happened in EgyptC. N. Williamson
But he had previously seen her so pained that he felt afraid of irritating her again.
His MasterpieceEmile Zola
I bore his horrible humors, his mad, irritating, capricious temper.
MelomaniacsJames Huneker
Her system of espial is even more minute and irritating than that of Russia.
The DestroyerBurton Egbert Stevenson
This was an irritating fact, but being 131 a fact had to be accepted.
The Wall Street GirlFrederick Orin Bartlett
irritate
- to annoy or anger (someone)
- (tr) biology to stimulate (an organism or part) to respond in a characteristic manner
- (tr) pathol to cause (a bodily organ or part) to become excessively stimulated, resulting in inflammation, tenderness, etc
Word Origin for irritate
Word Origin and History for irritating
irritate
1530s, "stimulate to action, rouse, incite," from Latin irritatus, past participle of irritare "excite, provoke." An earlier verb form was irrite (mid-15c.), from Old French irriter. Meaning "annoy, make impatient" is from 1590s. Related: Irritated; irritating.