Standard Lemma guide

irritable

adj · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈɪɹɪtəbl̩/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH1 R AH0 T AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Capable of being irritated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Easily exasperated or excited.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • an irritable old man

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Responsive to stimuli.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

easily irritated or annoyed

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an incorrigibly fractious young man
  • not the least nettlesome of his countrymen

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cranky, fractious, nettlesome, peevish, peckish, pettish, petulant, scratchy, testy, tetchy, techy

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

capable of responding to stimuli

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: excitable

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

abnormally sensitive to a stimulus

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French irritable, from Latin irritabilis.

Across languages

Translations

70 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: раздразнителен (razdraznitelen) — capable of being irritated
  • Catalan: irritable — capable of being irritated
  • Esperanto: incitebla — capable of being irritated
  • Esperanto: incitiĝema — capable of being irritated
  • Finnish: ärtyvä — capable of being irritated
  • French: irritable — capable of being irritated
  • German: reizbar — capable of being irritated
  • Irish: greannaitheach — capable of being irritated
  • Kabuverdianu: iradu — capable of being irritated
  • Macedonian: раздразлив (razdrazliv) — capable of being irritated
  • Macedonian: надразлив (nadrazliv) — capable of being irritated
  • Māori: āritarita — capable of being irritated
  • Māori: kiriweti — capable of being irritated
  • Māori: pukukino — capable of being irritated
  • Māori: ārita — capable of being irritated
  • Māori: amowheke — capable of being irritated
  • Māori: whanewhane — capable of being irritated
  • Māori: mānehenehe — capable of being irritated
  • Norwegian Bokmål: irritabel — capable of being irritated
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: irritabel — capable of being irritated
  • Romanian: iritabil — capable of being irritated
  • Russian: раздражи́тельный (razdražítelʹnyj) — capable of being irritated
  • Scots: carnaptious — capable of being irritated
  • Scottish Gaelic: crosta — capable of being irritated
  • Scottish Gaelic: gruamach — capable of being irritated
  • Scottish Gaelic: dranndanach — capable of being irritated
  • Slovak: prchký — capable of being irritated
  • Spanish: irritable — capable of being irritated
  • Turkish: hırçın — capable of being irritated
  • Turkish: huysuz — capable of being irritated
  • Turkish: aksi — capable of being irritated
  • Ottoman Turkish: تتیز (titiz) — capable of being irritated
  • Ottoman Turkish: خرچین (hırçın) — capable of being irritated
  • Bulgarian: сприхав (sprihav) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Catalan: irritable — easily exasperated or excited
  • Finnish: ärtyisä — easily exasperated or excited
  • Finnish: kärttyisä — easily exasperated or excited
  • Finnish: kärttyinen — easily exasperated or excited
  • French: irritable — easily exasperated or excited
  • German: reizbar — easily exasperated or excited
  • Ancient Greek: δύσκολος (dúskolos) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Hebrew: רָגִיז (ragíz) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Hungarian: ingerlékeny — easily exasperated or excited
  • Irish: drisíneach — easily exasperated or excited
  • Irish: colgach — easily exasperated or excited
  • Kabuverdianu: iradu — easily exasperated or excited
  • Latin: ācriculus — easily exasperated or excited
  • Latin: stomachōsus — easily exasperated or excited
  • Macedonian: раздразлив (razdrazliv) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Macedonian: надразлив (nadrazliv) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Māori: pukukino — easily exasperated or excited
  • Plautdietsch: brumsch — easily exasperated or excited
  • Russian: раздражительный (razdražitelʹnyj) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Scottish Gaelic: crosta — easily exasperated or excited
  • Scottish Gaelic: gruamach — easily exasperated or excited
  • Spanish: irritable — easily exasperated or excited
  • Turkish: hırçın — easily exasperated or excited
  • Turkish: huysuz — easily exasperated or excited
  • Turkish: aksi — easily exasperated or excited
  • Ottoman Turkish: تتیز (titiz) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Ottoman Turkish: خرچین (hırçın) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Ukrainian: дратівли́вий (drativlývyj) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Zazaki: rıkın (diq) — easily exasperated or excited
  • Bulgarian: чувствителен (čuvstvitelen) — responsive to stimuli
  • Finnish: herkkä — responsive to stimuli
  • Finnish: herkkänahkainen — responsive to stimuli
  • French: irritable — responsive to stimuli
  • German: reizbar — responsive to stimuli
  • Macedonian: надразлив (nadrazliv) — responsive to stimuli
  • Tagalog: talusaling — responsive to stimuli