annoys

verb

present tense third-person singular of annoy
as in bothers
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts deliberately annoyed the elderly neighbor by walking across his lawn

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 annoys That very same thing is what annoys Liz about Charles 500 years later. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026 But Turner is a symbol for everything that annoys people about the Phillies. — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 19 July 2026 Another potential ingredient in whether a company annoys customers is its business model. — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 7 July 2026 That's Clearly Too Heavy This isn't just something that annoys flight attendants, but a potentially hazardous task for crew members. — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 3 July 2026 One of the more common ways bear encounters escalate is when an off-leash dog runs toward a bear, annoys it, and then comes sprinting back to its owner with an angry predator in pursuit. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 June 2026 Seeing this much effort put into ripping off people annoys him. — Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 1 June 2026 Just the idea of him annoys me. — ABC News, 26 May 2026 Still, what really annoys Daisy is that Ellie doesn’t seem to respect her rank. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 26 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for annoys
  1. bothers
  2. irritates
  3. bugs
  4. persecutes
  5. aggravates
Verb
  • This is why the sameness creeping into corporate communications right now bothers me more than the question of whether AI can write a good press release.
    — Amanda Simonian, Forbes.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Kurt's key takeaways What bothers me most about DoppelCart is how convincing these fake stores can look.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of bothers
Verb
  • Knowing that Madame Lalouette’s sales numbers are too high to fire her, Carla attempts to transfer Madame Morel to a different department — a move that irritates her superiors and highlights her weakness.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
  • With contact dermatitis, a product like a soap or chemical irritates the skin or causes an allergic reaction, leading to symptoms like itching, discoloration, swelling, or even blisters.
    — Ayren Jackson-Cannady, Allure, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of irritates
Verb
  • Irwin is uncertain if the second infestation of bed bugs last weekend were ones that weren’t caught the first time, or if a person brought new bed bugs in.
    — Susan Bromley, Freep.com, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Not too much bugs him, but he sometimes is annoyed by his baby sister and doesn’t trust people who put pineapple on their pizza.
    — Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of bugs
Verb
  • China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Feb. 2026
  • In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.
    — Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Definition of persecutes
Verb
  • Consider your current conditioning, access to equipment, and whether the movement aggravates your joints or an injury.
    — Jakob Roze, HEALTH, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Social pressures intensify as the Aries moon aggravates Mars.
    — USA TODAY, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of aggravates

Browse Nearby Words

annoyingly
annoys
annual
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Cite this Entry

“Annoys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/annoys. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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