as in irritable
easily irritated or annoyed
forced to endure a memorably irascible boss on her first job after college
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 irascible
The coach of the team, Tarrant, an irascible, former Marine, allowed outsiders to come watch practice.
—
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Their first conversation is comically lopsided, and McKellen, purring his way through what is effectively a monologue, lays the groundwork for his most vividly inhabited and hilariously irascible performance in years.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Antonia has also wound up with her family, including her grandmother, an irascible old woman who is both Antonia’s role model and perhaps chief antagonist.
—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Mar. 2026
Under David Ellenstein’s direction, the production stars North Coast Rep veteran James Sutorius as the fading but humorously irascible Steven.
—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for irascible
Joe Vardon,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Their first conversation is comically lopsided, and McKellen, purring his way through what is effectively a monologue, lays the groundwork for his most vividly inhabited and hilariously irascible performance in years.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Antonia has also wound up with her family, including her grandmother, an irascible old woman who is both Antonia’s role model and perhaps chief antagonist.
—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
21 Mar. 2026
Under David Ellenstein’s direction, the production stars North Coast Rep veteran James Sutorius as the fading but humorously irascible Steven.
—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for irascible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irascible
Adjective
-
The symptoms are so delayed that people often blame them on food poisoning, irritable-bowel syndrome, gluten intolerance.
-
Cancer could be affectionate and chatty one moment, and withdrawn and irritable the next, with little to no explanation.
Adjective
-
Our previous card featured the fiery destruction of the Missouri Pacific depot in 1909.
-
And the hottest of the bunch, the green, is a fiery combination of both jalapeños and green habaneros.
Cite this Entry
“Irascible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irascible. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
