irritating

1 of 2

adjective

ir·​ri·​tat·​ing ˈir-ə-ˌtā-tiŋ 

: causing displeasure, anger, or annoyance

an irritating noise/habit

I felt more and more angry. There was something very irritating and aggressive in Summerlee's demeanour.

—Arthur Conan Doyle

irritatingly

ˈir-ə-ˌtā-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

The computer was irritatingly slow.

irritating

2 of 2

present participle of irritate

Synonyms of irritating

Adjective

• annoying
• frustrating
• disturbing

Examples of irritating in a Sentence

Adjective

his particularly irritating habit of leaving his dirty clothes on the floor

this soap leaves a residue that might be a little irritating if you have sensitive skin

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The larger battery gives it the sort of range that makes an EV genuinely useful for long-distance driving, while the interior avoids some of the irritating touchscreen-heavy trends found elsewhere. — Matthew MacConnell, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Sabalenka double-faulted on match point, her seventh double fault of the day, to put an exclamation point on an irritating evening. — Lukas Weese, New York Times, 9 Aug. 2026

Soft, suede-like material is smooth on skin and non-irritating. — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026

Sutherland further emphasizes this point, saying that calcium and magnesium in hard water can be absorbed into the cotton, making the towels stiff and irritating. — Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1707, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for irritating

• abdicating
• abrogating
• activating
• actuating
• advocating
• aggravating
• aggregating
• agitating
• allocating
• alternating
• animating
• annotating