irritate

verb

(transitive) To provoke impatience, anger, or displeasure in.

(intransitive) To cause or induce displeasure or irritation.

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

(transitive, obsolete, Scots law) To render null and void.

Roots

irritoirrit- · Latin · provoke, excite

Synonyms for irritate

annoyv rilev vexv botherv irkv exasperatev chafev aggravatev ranklev enragev peeven provokev inflamev offendv exacerbatev

Synonyms & related words for irritate

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of irritate — including annoy, rile, vex, bother, irk, exasperate. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to irritate

Explore words related to irritate — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include irritator, infuriate, unnerve, displease, nonirritating, irritative, irritation, irritant. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for irritate

Common synonyms for irritate include annoy, rile, vex, bother, irk, exasperate, chafe, aggravate — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does irritate come from?

The word irritate breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root irrit-, from Latin irrito (“provoke, excite”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.