irritating
[ir-i-tey-ting]
- causing irritation; annoying; provoking: irritating questions.
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Origin of irritating
irritate
[ir-i-teyt]
- 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.
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- to cause irritation or become irritated.
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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
Synonyms
See more synonyms for irritate on Thesaurus.com1. vex, chafe, fret, gall; nettle, ruffle, pique; incense, enrage, infuriate, inflame.
Synonym study
1. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for irritating
Contemporary Examples
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
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
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin irrītāre to provoke, exasperate
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for irritating
irritate
v.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper