Standard Lemma guide

irritate

verb · 7 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.

  • /ˈɪɹ.ɪˌteɪt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH1 R IH0 T EY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To provoke impatience, anger, or displeasure in.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: provoke, rile, aggravate, annoy, nettle, rankle, ruffle, sting, antagonize, bother, disgruntle, botherate, bug, get, grate, burn up, bedevil, cheese off, devil, exasperate, frustrate, get up, grotch, hack off, hassle, irk, irritate, jazz, molest, mommick, nark, nerve, pee off, peeve, peeve off, persecute, pique, piss off, rile up, roil, storm, test someone's patience, tick off, trouble, try one's patience, vex, wind up, Idioms:, boil someone's piss, chap someone's hide, get on someone's nerves, get on someone's tits, get on someone's wick, get someone's back up, get someone's dander up, get someone's goat, get someone's Irish up, get someone's nanny, get someone's nanny-goat, get under one's goat, get under someone's skin, give someone the shits, grind one's gears, harsh one's mellow, put someone's back up, raise someone's hackles, rub someone the wrong way, rub up the wrong way, ruffle someone's feathers, tee off, torque off

Antonyms: placate, please, soothe

2

verb

Meaning 2

To cause or induce displeasure or irritation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abrade, chafe, grate, rankle

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To induce pain in (all or part of a body or organism).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: afflict, pang, ache, aggrieve, agonize, anguish, dere, excruciate, hurt, irritate, pine, rack, throe, torment, torture, wring

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To render null and void.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, transitive

Qualifier: Scots law

Examples

  • c. 1634-1661 John Bramhall, Protestants' Ordination Defended Are human laws presently superfluous, so often as they do not irritate or abrogate Divine laws ?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: annul, nullify, invalidate

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

excite to an abnormal condition, or chafe or inflame

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Aspirin irritates my stomach

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: soothe

Broader terms: worsen, aggravate, exacerbate, exasperate

Narrower terms: chafe, gall, fret, rub, scratch, itch

6

verb

Meaning 6

excite to some characteristic action or condition, such as motion, contraction, or nervous impulse, by the application of a stimulus

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • irritate the glands of a leaf

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: stimulate, excite

Narrower terms: pinch, vellicate

7

verb

Meaning 7

cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me
  • It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: annoy, rag, get to, bother, get at, rile, nark, nettle, gravel, vex, chafe, devil

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: displease

Narrower terms: get, get under one's skin, eat into, fret, rankle, grate, peeve, ruffle, harass, hassle, harry, chivy, chivvy, chevy, chevvy, beset, plague, molest, provoke, antagonize, antagonise

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin irrītātus, perfect passive participle of irrītō (“excite, irritate, incite, stimulate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Borrowed from Latin irritātus, perfect passive participle of irritō (“to invalidate, render void, annul”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from irritus (“invalid”), the equivalent of in- + ratus (“valid, established, fixed”).

Across languages

Translations

84 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: նյարդայնացնել (nyardaynacʻnel) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Armenian: զայրացնել (zayracʻnel) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Armenian: ջղայնացնել (ǰġaynacʻnel) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Azerbaijani: qıcıqlandırmaq — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Belarusian: раздражня́ць (razdražnjácʹ) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Bengali: জ্বালাতন করা (jalaton kora) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Bengali: সাতানো (satano) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Bulgarian: дразня (draznja) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Bulgarian: ядосвам (jadosvam) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Chichonyi-Chidzihana-Chikauma: yuga — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 激怒 (jīnù) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 刺激 (cìjī) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Cornish: veksya — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Czech: dráždit — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Dutch: irriteren — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Esperanto: agaci — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Esperanto: malamuzi — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Finnish: ärsyttää — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Finnish: vituttaa — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Finnish: nyppiä — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Finnish: tympiä — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Finnish: harmittaa — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Finnish: vaivata — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • French: agacer — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Galician: irritar — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Galician: arrizar — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Galician: tocar o carallo — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Georgian: გაღიზიანება (gaɣizianeba) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Georgian: გაბრაზება (gabrazeba) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • German: reizen — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • German: irritieren — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • German: ärgern — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Greek: εκνευρίζω (eknevrízo) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Greek: τσαντίζω (tsantízo) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Greek: θυμώνω (thymóno) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Ancient Greek: παροξύνω (paroxúnō) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Hindi: चिढ़ाना (ciṛhānā) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Ido: iracigar — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Irish: greannaigh — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Italian: irritare — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Japanese: いらいらさせる (iraira saseru) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Japanese: 怒らせる (ikaraseru) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Japanese: じらす (jirasu) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Ladino: inyervar — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Latin: piget — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Latin: taedet — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Lithuanian: erzinti — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Lithuanian: dirginti — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Māori: whakakūrakuraku — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Māori: whakahārangirangi — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Māori: mukākā — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Māori: whakatōwenewene — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Middle English: noyen — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Norwegian: irritere — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Polish: irytować — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Polish: zirytować — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Polish: drażnić — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Polish: rozdrażniać — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Polish: rozdrażnić — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Polish: denerwować — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Polish: zdenerwować — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Portuguese: irritar — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Romanian: irita — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Romanian: enerva — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Romanian: agasa — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Romanian: sâcâi — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Russian: раздража́ть (razdražátʹ) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Russian: злить (zlitʹ) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Russian: серди́ть (serdítʹ) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Spanish: irritar — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Spanish: enviscar — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Swedish: irritera — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Tagalog: alibadbaran — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Thai: ทําให้หงุดหงิด — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Turkish: kızdırmak — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Turkish: öfkelendirmek — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Turkish: sinirlendirmek — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Turkish: sinir etmek — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Turkish: sinirini bozmak — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Turkish: gıcık etmek — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Turkish: tahriş etmek — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Turkish: kaşındırmak — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Turkish: irite etmek — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation
  • Ukrainian: дратува́ти (dratuváty) — to cause or induce displeasure or irritation