irritate
verb (used with object)
to excite to impatience or anger; annoy.
were irritating
-
past progressiveof irritate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Linebreakers were irritating, but a consortium’s real enemy was its competition.
From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2022
The persistent and mostly unsuccessful UW runs up the middle were irritating to watch as the game against Utah wore on, particularly when the few runs at the edges met with more success.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 4, 2020
It was thought that they were irritating, that they contained too much personality, that they couldn’t convey objectivity.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 3, 2019
And some odd bits of editing were irritating.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2019
His words were irritating enough to Le Gardeur.
From The Golden Dog by William Kirby
