irritation
Americannoun
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irritations
plural
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the act of irritating or the state of being irritated.
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something that irritates.
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Physiology, Pathology.
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the bringing of a bodily part or organ to an abnormally excited or sensitive condition.
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the condition itself.
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noun
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something that irritates
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the act of irritating or the condition of being irritated
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of irritation
First recorded in 1580–90, irritation is from the Latin word irrītātiōn- (stem of irrītātiō ). See irritate, -ion
Explanation
An irritation is a situation or action that annoys someone — emotionally or physically. Your off-key singing in the car might be an irritation to the driver, or that poison ivy could be an irritation as well. It's an irritation when you're bothering someone else, and it's also irritation when you're the one feeling irked: "My irritation increased the longer the train sat there, unmoving, with no explanation." The earliest meaning of this word was more physical, a "sore or swollen spot," from the Latin root word irritare, "excite or provoke."
Vocabulary lists containing irritation
That Hurts! Synonyms for "Pain"
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The Sound and the Fury: Synonyms for "Anger"
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Unit 5, Week 1
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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:
The bloom was also linked to physical health problems including respiratory irritation and asthma.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
The sounds can indicate irritation, excitement, alarm or affection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
One party figure said she would do well to remember her own irritation at Alex Salmond's backseat driving when she replaced him at the top of the party.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
“I did that yesterday, when I was a kid,” he sings over hectic guitar strums, and his trilling digital falsetto, warped to maximize irritation, makes clear that those days are far behind him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
I snapped, his anger spurring me into irritation of my own.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Smishing has become one of those quotidian irritations of modern life, and for some people, baiting the sender can feel like a tiny act of revenge—or just an opportunity for amusement.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
About two hours later, it said rounds were fired nearby that saw smoke enter the camp, causing 15 peacekeepers to suffer skin irritations and gastrointestinal reactions.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024
Each seemingly simple task is not just saddled with procedural irritations — forms to fill out, appointments to attend, banal questions to answer — but with fear.
From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
If we don’t, we will — given enough time, irritations, and the wrong figure asking us how we’re doing at the right moment.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024
As the cares and irritations dropped away, General Matsika became the father Tendai wished he really had.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
