chafe

1 to make sore by continued rubbing ill-fitting boots that had badly chafed my heels Synonyms abrade, excoriate, fret, gall, irritate Related Words graze, scrape, scratch; burn, inflame (also enflame); flay, peel, skin

2 to damage or diminish by continued friction constant stepping on a rope will gradually chafe it, rendering it unsafe for rock climbing Synonyms abrade, corrade, erode, fray, frazzle, fret, gall, rasp, rub, wearRelated Words file, gnaw, grate, graze, grind, nibble, sandblast, sandpaper, scour, scrape, scuff, shave; erase, reduce, rub out, wear out, wipe (away); bite, break down, break up, chew, corrode, decompose, disintegrate, dissolve, eat; hone, sharpen, whet

3 to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts nothing chafes us so much as those telemarketers who call during the dinner hour Synonyms aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, burn (up), irritate, eat, exasperate, frost, gall, get, grate, gripe, hack (off), irk, itch, nark [British], nettle, peeve, persecute, pique, put out, rasp, rile, ruffle, spite, vexRelated Words hassle, heckle; nag; inflame (also enflame), provoke, rouse; badger, bait, bullyrag (also ballyrag), devil, hagride, harass, harry, pester, plague, tease; anger, antagonize, enrage, incense, infuriate, madden, rankle, roil; agitate, discomfort, discompose, disquiet, distress, exercise, freak (out), fret, perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry; affront, insult, miff, offend, outrageNear Antonyms appease, conciliate, mollify, oblige, pacify, placate, propitiate; delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy; assure, cheer, comfort, console, content, quiet, reassure, solace, soothe