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irritate Definition

ir·ri·tate (ir′i tāt′)

transitive verb -·tat′ed, -·tat′·ing

  1. to excite to anger; provoke; annoy; exasperate
  2. to cause (an organ or part of the body) to be inflamed or sore
  3. Physiol. to excite (an organ, muscle, etc.) to a characteristic action or function by a stimulus

Etymology: < L irritatus, pp. of irritare, to excite, stimulate, irritate < ir-, in- + IE base *erei-, to excite, agitate > roam

irritate Related Forms

ir′·ri·tat′·ingly adverb

irritate Synonyms

irritate

v.

  1. To bother

    provoke, annoy, exasperate, pester, peeve, nettle; see also bother 2, 3, disturb 2.

  2. To inflame

    redden, chafe, swell, erupt, pain, sting, burn, aggravate; see also hurt 4, itch 1.

irritate, the broadest in scope of these terms, may suggest temporary superficial impatience, or constant annoyance in, or an outburst of anger from, the person stirred to feeling their smugness irritated him; to provoke is to arouse strong annoyance or resentment, or, sometimes, vindictive anger provoked by an insult; nettle implies irritation that stings or piques rather than infuriates sly, nettling remarks; exasperate implies intense irritation such as exhausts one's patience or makes one lose one's self-control exasperating impudence; peeve, an informal word, means to cause to be annoyed, cross, or fretful he seems peeved about something

irritate Usage Examples

Object

  • lining: But such benefits may be outweighed by its potential to irritate the stomach lining or an existing stomach ulcer.
  • airway: Previous studies Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 substances - many of which irritate the airways.
  • cough: A child with mild asthma may have an irritating cough each night, but is often fine during the day.
  • skin: The discharge may irritate the skin around the anus.
  • stomach: Avoid salty, fatty or spicy foods that might irritate the stomach.
  • bladder: It is best to avoid large quantities of caffeine and alcohol as these irritate the bladder.

Subject

fact: For a few years, I was irritated by the fact procedural languages couldn't return more than one item.

Preposition: at

time: But for me, the song is both appealing and irritating at the same time.

Noun phrase with adjective complement

such: These " granules " are the irritating substances such as histamine and were released from the mast cell.

Modifying Another Word

  • mildly: The only mildly irritating aspect of the evening was the apparent lack of a smoking policy.
  • intensely: He also has an intensely irritating habit of keeping facts away from the reader.
  • moderately: Olibanum gum applied to intact or abraded rabbit skin for 24 hours under occlusion was found to be moderately irritating.
  • downright: The media are perplexed and at times downright irritated by this turn of events.
  • immensely: Also immensely irritating is the movie's choppy editing style.
  • slightly: Your point about the flood warning slightly irritated me.

Preposition: after

while: The stereo sound is average but the dialog comes through fine although the laugh track does get irritating after a while.

Used with why or when

when: What might be interesting stuff becomes distracting and in some cases irritating when it interrupts another story.

Infinitive complement

  • read: Mysteries are all unraveled eventually, but it is irritating to read 'After the accident.
  • find: Thatâs why it was so irritating to find the front-of-house staff charming.

Preposition: by

fact: For a few years, I was irritated by the fact procedural languages couldn't return more than one item.