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irritating

irritating

80 2.9
Making someone feel annoyed or impatient
  • adjective
  • /ˈɪrɪˌteɪtɪŋ/
translation icon : irritante
  • Her irritating habit of tapping her pen made it hard for me to focus in the meeting.
  • irritating behavior
  • find irritating
  • most irritating

including the most irritating noise that suddenly starts up outside.

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Examples

  • It is irritating when someone interrupts you while you're speaking.

  • My brother can be an extremely irritating sort of person.

  • So it's super irritating and I just choose not to eat them.

  • And I found it irritating when she did it.

  • For some reason, that was more irritating than all the rest combined.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • And that sound is beginning to get irritating.

  • The military presence on campus was an irritating reminder of the old social order.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Having to make this particular choice was irritating and a distraction from the things I care about most.

    Academic text (1999)
  • As I have already said, it is also a complex, irritating, and exhilarating enterprise.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Okay, I admit it She was charming In a stubborn, irritating kind of way.

Synonyms

annoying
vsirritating
392 1.0

Making someone feel bothered or irritated

is the broader label covering mild annoyance or brief impatience
pesky
vsirritating
59 3.6

Causing small but persistent trouble or annoyance

can be stronger, including real anger or sharper discomfort
infuriating
vsirritating
26 5.3

Causing you to feel very angry or annoyed

is the general, less intense sense that may not reach fury
maddening
vsirritating
22 5.3

Very annoying and hard to bear

is the less extreme category, including mild discomfort and impatience
bothersome
vsirritating
14 3.5

Causing annoyance or trouble

covers general feelings from annoyance to mild anger rather than just trouble
vexing
vsirritating
11 7.7

Making someone feel annoyed or frustrated

is more neutral, focusing on annoyance and mild impatience rather than distress
irksome
vsirritating
6 7.4

Making you feel annoyed or bored

focuses more on general annoyance or impatience rather than boredom
exasperating
vsirritating
6 6.1

Making you feel very annoyed and frustrated

is milder, covering annoyance up to mild anger rather than extreme irritation
galling
vsirritating
5 6.8

Making you feel annoyed because something seems unfair or hard to accept

covers general annoyance including unfairness but not only moral wrongs
aggravating
vsirritating
3 5.4

Making a situation worse or more annoying

is the basic feeling of annoyance or impatience without worsening outcomes
vexatious
vsirritating
1 8.7

Causing people to feel annoyed or frustrated

is the everyday term for the same unpleasant feeling without formality
nettlesome
vsirritating
1 9.4

Something that makes people feel annoyed or causes small repeated problems

refers simply to the feeling of annoyance or impatience without difficulty
niggly
vsirritating
  • UK
8.4

A small pain or problem that keeps annoying you

is broader, covering single annoyances as well as persistent ones
pestering
vsirritating
3.2

A person who annoys another person by asking again and again

is a single or general cause of annoyance, not only repeated action
teasing
vsirritating
2.7

Causing a feeling that annoys you and does not go away

is broader, including any cause of annoyance not only provocation
pestiferous
vsirritating
  • Literature
9.9

Making people feel annoyed or troubled

is the plain description of causing annoyance without the troublesome sense
plaguy
vsirritating
  • Archaic
9.9

Causes annoyance or small trouble that makes you feel irritated

is the neutral modern label for causing annoyance or impatience
plaguey
vsirritating
  • Archaic
9.6

Annoying and causing repeated small problems or used to complain strongly

is the standard modern term for causing annoyance or mild anger

Antonyms

134 1.4

Making someone feel less worried or upset

63 2.0

Giving a pleasant feeling of enjoyment or satisfaction

How Annoying

infuriating
26 5.3
irritating
80 2.9
bothersome
14 3.5

Surface Forms

irritating positive
irritatinger comparative
irritatingest superlative

Morphology

irritating = irritate (transparent) = irritate + ing

Formed by the verb 'irritate' plus the adjectival/participle suffix '-ing', meaning 'causing irritation', which a learner knowing 'irritate' would readily infer.

Etymology

Irritating comes from the old Latin verb irritare, which meant 'to excite' or 'provoke'. Think of it as something that 'stirs up' your feelings—like a noise or habit that keeps bothering you, so irritating means 'causing annoyance'.