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irritable

irritable

30 3.7
Quick to become annoyed or angry
  • adjective
  • /ˈɪrɪtəbl/
: irritable
  • And what is it to become irritable or angry with people?
  • become irritable
  • moody and irritable
  • feel irritable

I feel like I'm tired, I'm irritable, you know, not sleeping.

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Examples

  • They do not do solitude and can get quite irritable if they have to spend time alone.

  • And so if I'm peevish or irritable, then, well, that's not good.

  • Some individuals become irritable when they are sick and may be hard to please.

    Academic text (2015)
  • If we wake him up in the middle of the night, he'll be irritable.

  • And so we're tense and irritable and upset.

  • The ten directors now sitting in the conference room were irritable and impatient.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • When she wasn't sleeping, she was very irritable.

  • Instead, Masters was agitated and irritable, much to the chagrin of the rest of the crew.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Then that feeds back up to your central nervous system and you're anxious or you're irritable for no real reason.

  • When he is hungry, he becomes irritable and snaps at everyone around him.

Synonyms

cranky
vsirritable
108 4.2

Easily annoyed and upset when tired or hungry

is focused on becoming annoyed rather than on complaining behavior
impatient
vsirritable
105 2.8

Quickly annoyed when having to wait

is annoyed for many reasons, not only by delays
grumpy
vsirritable
80 1.7

Easily annoyed and in a bad mood

is more about quick irritation rather than a lasting bad mood
testy
vsirritable
33 7.2

Easily annoyed and quick to get angry

can be annoyed but also includes a general tendency to get upset
crabby
vsirritable
  • Informal
25 5.4

Feeling easily annoyed and in a bad mood

leans more toward sudden annoyance or impatience than a sour mood
pissy
vsirritable
  • Offensive
22 9.6

Quick to become annoyed and show a bad mood

is milder, covering general annoyance without the petty tone
ornery
vsirritable
  • Informal
22 8.5

Being bad-tempered and stubborn, often hard to deal with

is mainly about easily becoming annoyed without stubbornness
grouchy
vsirritable
20 3.9

Easily annoyed and often in a bad mood

is about the quick rise of annoyance rather than a steady displeasure
petulant
vsirritable
20 8.2

Acting easily annoyed and impatient about small things

is broader, covering general annoyance and growing impatience
peeved
vsirritable
12 6.7

Annoyed or a little angry about something small

tends to include both brief irritation and longer impatience
crotchety
vsirritable
6 8.8

Often in a bad mood and easily annoyed by small things

is more straightforwardly prone to annoyance and impatience
short-tempered
vsirritable
6 4.2

Quick to get angry or easily annoyed

tends to show impatience or annoyance before full anger
irascible
vsirritable
  • Formal
5 8.6

Quick to become angry, often at small things

is more about general annoyance and impatience rather than sharp provocation
peevish
vsirritable
5 7.8

Quick to get annoyed by small things

is less focused on fussiness and more on quick annoyance
bad-tempered
vsirritable
5 3.5

Quick to get angry or annoyed

is equally about being easily annoyed but less consistently habitual
ill-tempered
vsirritable
4 5.7

Easily annoyed and quick to get angry

captures quick irritation but not necessarily a stable bad mood
scratchy
vsirritable
3 5.6

Quick to become annoyed or upset

is focused on becoming annoyed rather than on taking offense
quick-tempered
vsirritable
2 6.0

To become angry quickly and easily

more often starts as mild annoyance or impatience first
tetchy
vsirritable
  • UK
1 8.1

Being easily annoyed by small things

is more about quick irritation or impatience than sensitivity to slights
chippy
vsirritable
  • UK
1 9.1

Being easily annoyed and quick to feel offended

is more about becoming impatient or irritated without defensive pride
narky
vsirritable
  • UK
1 9.9

Easily annoyed and quick to complain about small things

is broader, not necessarily petty or focused on complaint
pettish
vsirritable
1 8.9

Quick to get annoyed about small things

is more about general annoyance and impatience than sulking
techy
vsirritable
  • Informal
1 8.9

Easily annoyed by small things

is broader, including impatience as well as touchiness
crankish
vsirritable
1 8.3

Becoming easily annoyed and acting in a bad-tempered way

is similar but does not imply unusual or eccentric conduct

Antonyms

680 1.0

Not showing strong feelings and being very still

311 1.9

Able to stay calm and not get annoyed when waiting

Compounds

4 3.7

A common condition that causes belly pain and changes in toilet habits, often after stress

How Irritable

irascible
  • Formal
5 8.6
testy
33 7.2
irritable
30 3.7
cross
28 2.2
calm
680 1.0

Surface Forms

irritable positive
irritabler comparative
irritablest superlative

Morphology

irritable = irritate (transparent) = irritate + able

Formed from the verb 'irritate' + the productive suffix '-able', meaning 'capable of being irritated', which is directly inferable by learners.

Etymology

The word irritable comes from the Latin irritare, meaning 'to excite' or 'to provoke', and it shares the same root as irritate. So, an irritable person is easy to 'provoke' or annoy, which explains why they get upset over small things.