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irritate
verb
Synonyms
irritate, exasperate, nettle, provoke, rile, peeve mean to excite a feeling of anger or annoyance.
irritate implies an often gradual arousing of angry feelings that may range from mere impatience to rage.
exasperate suggests galling annoyance and the arousing of extreme impatience.
nettle suggests a sharp but passing annoyance or stinging.
provoke implies an arousing of strong annoyance that may excite to action.
rile implies inducing an angry or resentful agitation.
peeve suggests arousing fretful often petty or querulous irritation.
Examples of irritate in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'irritate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Latin irritatus, past participle of irritare
1598, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near irritate
Cite this Entry
“Irritate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irritate. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
irritate
verbMedical Definition
irritate
verbMore from Merriam-Webster on irritate
Nglish: Translation of irritate for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of irritate for Arabic Speakers
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