irritated 1 of 2

adjective

ˈir-ə-ˌtā-təd How to pronounce irritated (audio)
Definition of irritatednext
as in annoyed
subjected to and reacting with irritation irritated viewers were bombarding the station with complaints about the game's delayed start

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

irritated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of irritate
1
as in bothered
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts constant chatter irritated the student, who was trying to concentrate on a hard assignment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in scratched
to make sore by continued rubbing new shoes usually irritate my feet

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of irritated
Adjective
Shohei Ohtani went 0 for 4 with a pair of warning-track flyouts, five days after the four-time MVP had a lubricant injected into his irritated left knee. — ABC News, 17 July 2026 Symptoms of smoke inhalation include coughing, trouble breathing, wheezing, asthma attacks, stinging eyes, scratchy throat, runny nose and irritated sinuses, headaches, tiredness, chest pain and a fast heartbeat. — Michelle Del Rey, USA Today, 17 July 2026
Verb
It is expected that Mourinho will try to tighten control over leaks concerning internal dressing-room matters, something that has irritated the club this season — and which Alonso sought to tackle. — Guillermo Rai, New York Times, 29 May 2026 Even though the calf irritated him over the weekend, the ankle is still the primary problem. — Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 27 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for irritated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irritated
  1. annoyed
  2. bothered
  3. scratched
  4. exasperated
  5. bugged
  6. scraped
  7. angry
  8. persecuted
Adjective
  • Economists and the commentariat, playing the role of the annoyed parent, point out that over-all employment has been strong for a while.
    — Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 28 July 2026
  • Whatever the yellow jersey’s feelings, teams were annoyed, often more privately than publicly.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 26 July 2026
Definition of annoyed
Verb
  • The effect that Republicans’ Wuhan investigations and right-leaning media had on Fauci’s public image continuously bothered him, according to the writings.
    — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 31 July 2026
  • Johnson took the job partly out of patriotism; he was bothered that so few people knew the smartphone was a Canadian invention.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 29 July 2026
Definition of bothered
Verb
  • The release encourages people not to use any card reader that looks loose, crooked, damaged or scratched, and to use tap-to-pay or chip technology whenever possible.
    — Grant Lancaster, Arkansas Online, 27 July 2026
  • But The Dink has a 74% on RT (compared to 26% for The Hawk) and might scratch that sports-movie itch if it hasn’t already been scratched.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026
Definition of scratched
Adjective
  • Jack Loder, a clearly exasperated digital content producer for the Giants’ flagship station KNBR, posted a two-minute video on X shortly after the game that singled out Webb for criticism.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
  • For a variety of reasons that weren’t immediately entirely clear, there was a comprehensive and fundamental breakdown in access to the stadium that left many exasperated or furious.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026
Definition of exasperated
Verb
  • The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, a law-enforcement agency known as NABU, had bugged Mindich’s apartment in Kyiv, and detectives picked up his conversations about Fire Point.
    — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
  • The group alleged that as well as hacking their phones, journalists from the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday tapped landlines and bugged houses and cars.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 7 July 2026
Definition of bugged
Verb
  • And, in turn, the Warriors literally added no one, save for two draft picks, to a depressing roster that scraped together 37 measly wins last year.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 24 July 2026
  • All of this makes the album feel more like a mixtape in progress, scraped together from features cut from other people’s projects.
    — Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 23 July 2026
Definition of scraped
Adjective
  • At first, Jack felt angry to know his Parkinson’s was likely linked to service to his country.
    — Nicole Borman, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026
  • The Secret Service’s actual procedures turn out to be more like guidelines that can be discarded if the president is sufficiently angry—which, from the standpoint of safeguarding democracy, constitutes a fairly concerning loophole.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 30 July 2026
Definition of angry
Verb
  • Although the two programs similarly target humanitarian concerns, being a TPS holder does not guarantee asylum, which requires that applicants prove they’ve been persecuted on specific grounds.
    — Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Aug. 2026
  • In The Bacchae, Dionysus becomes violent only because his existence has been denied and his followers persecuted, and his maenads similarly become destructive only when pursued.
    — Angelica Frey, JSTOR Daily, 31 July 2026
Definition of persecuted

Browse Nearby Words

irritate
irritated
irritates
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Irritated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irritated. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on irritated

Nglish: Translation of irritated for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of élan

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All