to grate
9
6.7
- verb
- /ɡreɪt/
- Informal
:
fastidiar
- But their laughter grated; their amusement was always at someone else's expense.
Looking around, seeing all these busy bodies and it just grates on my nerves.
- Looking around, seeing all these busy bodies and it just grates on my nerves.
- And those kind of attitudes that emerged have really grated.
- So, you know, you will always know that you grate on them, but you grate on them because they can't control you.
- And I think on Twitter people do say things that make you just want to grate your eyeballs.
Examples
-
Those same singsong rhymes over and over... are enough to grate on my nerves.
-
The sad state of hotel service grates on a road dog like Dick.
Fiction book (2000) -
I know they tend to grate after a while.
-
So, you know, you will always know that you grate on them, but you grate on them because they can't control you.
-
The dirty table cloth's beginning to grate on me.
-
Here is a real-world problem that tends to grate on every airplane traveler's nerves.
Academic text (2007) -
Loretta stirred milk into her coffee cup with that little clink-clink sound that grated on Arlene's nerves.
Fiction book (1999) -
The constant noise from the construction site began to grate on my patience as the days wore on.
-
Her habit of interrupting others during conversations really started to grate on my nerves.
-
The repetitive jingles in the advertisement began to grate on everyone who saw it continuously.
Synonyms
246
1.0
Make someone slightly angry or bothered by small repeated actions
137
3.0
Make someone feel annoyed because they cannot do something
78
2.9
Make someone feel annoyed or impatient, often by repeated small actions
63
6.9
Make someone annoyed, often by small things
43
4.2
Annoy someone and make them angrier
28
4.7
To make someone feel annoyed or unhappy
25
7.2
To annoy someone again and again so they feel bothered
18
4.9
Gradually make someone feel worried or less confident
10
6.8
To feel annoyed by rules or repeated problems
10
8.0
To continue to make someone feel angry or hurt
8
7.1
To annoy someone deeply
7
4.9
To bother someone again and again until they feel angry
7
5.9
Make someone very annoyed by doing the same thing again and again
7
6.1
To make someone feel worried or less confident for a long time
5
6.8
To make someone feel hurt and angry for a long time
3
9.9
To feel angry or bitter about something unfair that you cannot forget
2
6.8
To make someone feel annoyed
2
8.2
To offend someone and make them feel annoyed or hurt
2
6.8
To make someone feel more and more upset or angry inside
1
8.0
To make someone feel unhappy or annoyed
To make a person or group feel bitter and angry
To make someone feel more bitter and angry about something
Antonyms
How Irritating
Surface Forms
Etymology
The 'annoy' sense of grate comes from the idea of a rough scraping feeling or sound that keeps hitting you, like something that rubs at your nerves. So when something 'grates' on you it slowly irritates or angers you.