Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

annoying

play
adjective an·noy·ing \-iŋ\

Definition of annoying

  1. :  causing vexation or irritation :  causing annoyance :  irritating an annoying habit annoying questions

annoyingly

play \-iŋ-lē\ adverb

See annoying defined for kids

Read the Latest from M-W

snotter
'Snotter', 'Groak', and 6 More Words Associated with Bad Habits
image1694077559
Which Is The Correct Plural Spelling? (It's a Trick Question)
decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
alt-5926e94cc0e45
'Climate' Change

Examples of annoying in a Sentence

  1. my partner has the annoying habit of eating all the pickles and leaving a jar full of pickle juice in the refrigerator

Origin and Etymology of annoying

see annoy


First Known Use: 14th century

annoying Synonyms

Synonyms
abrasive, aggravating, bothersome, carking, chafing, disturbing, exasperating, frustrating, galling, irksome, irritating, maddening, nettlesome, nettling, peeving, pesky, pestiferous, pestilent, pestilential, pesty, plaguey (also plaguy), rankling, rebarbative, riling, vexatious, vexing
Related Words
burdensome, discomforting, displeasing, disquieting, distressing, importunate, importune, inconveniencing; angering, enraging, infuriating; brattish, bratty, mischievous, offensive, troublesome, upsetting; distractive, painful, stressful, tiresome, troubling, trying, worrisome; biting, grating, jangling, jarring, spiny, thorny
Near Antonyms
delightful, pleasing

ANNOYING Defined for Kids

annoying

play
adjective an·noy·ing \ə-ˈnȯi-iŋ\

Definition of annoying for Students

  1. :  causing slight anger an annoying habit

annoyingly

adverb She's annoyingly loud.

Learn More about annoying

  1. Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for annoying Spanish Central: Translation of annoying Nglish: Translation of annoying for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of annoying for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up annoying? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

WORD OF THE DAY

torpedo

play

a weapon for destroying ships

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. suborn "to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing"

  2. nutjob 'a mentally unbalanced person'

  3. collusion 'Secret cooperation for an illegal or dishonest purpose'

  4. counsel Is it 'council' or 'counsel'?

  5. witch hunt Lookups spiked after Trump used the word in a tweet

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

annoying

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • winning-words-from-the-national-spelling-bee-logo
  • Which is the correct spelling of the winning word from 1988?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Add Diction

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Words at Play

alt-5926e94cc0e45
'Climate' Change

No denying this word's history

alt-5925b73b3a62e
'Author' is a Verb

Beyond the mere act of writing

alt-592708149cf54
Don't Catch 'Flack' for Using 'Flak'

How a word for antiaircraft guns came to refer to PR pro

image1694077559
Plural Words With Multiple Spellings

Multiple spellings for "multiple" words.

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

winning-words-from-the-national-spelling-bee-logo
Winning Words from Scripps Spelling Bee Quiz

Can you outdo past winners of the Spelling Bee?

Take the quiz
peter-bruegel-tower-of-babel-painting
Where in the World? A Quiz

Do you know what languages these words come from?

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Add Diction
Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

Play the game
Examples: annoying in a Sentence