irked 1 of 2

irked

2 of 2

verb

past tense of irk

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 irked
Verb
Legette, who is almost always good-natured, seemed irked by some of the questions during his media availability Wednesday. Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2025 Farke is irked by the modern phenomenon of specialist set-piece coaches being glamourised on television and being made the centre of attention. Beren Cross, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025 Anthropic ran into a similar problem recently because of its strict prohibition on surveillance, which Semafor reported irked White House officials. Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2025 West Park doesn’t have its own police department and pays BSO for police services, but commissioners have been irked by increases in cost to the police agency by millions of dollars over the last few years. Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2025 Samsung declined to respond to specific questions sent about the pilot program, including which fridge models are affected and its response to customers who may be irked that their expensive appliance is suddenly showing ads. Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 18 Sep. 2025 The move irked Republicans in Congress who, in July, moved to ban restoring any Confederate names in this year's defense authorization bill. Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2025 The escalation has irked Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who warned on Thursday that his country could not be invaded. Nick Mordowanec john Feng, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025 On the back of the continual tumult in American cricket, the low number of six teams per gender and qualification process has irked many cricket nations. Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irked
Adjective
  • In March, Goldberg grew annoyed after Teta teed up the show's theme music to play her off.
    Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Another issue that cropped up frequently last season also left Lee a tad annoyed.
    Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The decision by Aaron Turner, Kuminga’s agent, to go on a media tour in recent weeks while negotiating publicly in hopes of landing a better offer for Kuminga, irritated some with the organization, according to league sources.
    Nick Friedell, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • And the web designer from South Dakota certainly must have irritated her former final two ally Vince Panaro on her way out of the Big Brother house.
    Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Despite his status as a pop culture icon for close to 50 years now, ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic has claimed he’s not terribly bothered about being overlooked by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
    Tyler Jenke, Billboard, 14 Aug. 2025
  • When taking a deeper look at what causes Americans to feel bothered about protesters waving Mexican flags, some clear patterns emerge.
    Loren Collingwood, The Conversation, 1 July 2025
Verb
  • Power gains are bugged to be too low for a new power grind that no one wants to do anyway.
    Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
  • His not winning it was considered a failure, and that bugged him.
    Brody Miller, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Gannon was upset after Demercado dropped the football before crossing the goal line on what should have been a 72-yard touchdown that would have put Arizona up 28-6 early in the fourth quarter.
    Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Those numbers might flip if Mizzou springs the home upset.
    David Ubben, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • This Committee was initially created during the McCarthy Era, a dark time when the federal government repressed and persecuted American citizens for their political beliefs.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Leatherface attacks, but the real villains turn out to be the townsfolk who persecuted the Sawyers after the original massacre.
    Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Following his role as Kat, Joey and Patrick's exasperated English teacher, Daryl Mitchell went on to play Leo Michaels on Veronica's Closet until 2000.
    Sophie Dodd, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Even his mistake for Damsgaard’s opener brought more of a stunned silence than exasperated groans or impulsive anger from the locals.
    Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Anyone proposing to offer a master class on changing the world for the better, without becoming negative, cynical, angry or narrow-minded in the process, could model their advice on the life and work of pioneering animal behavior scholar Jane Goodall.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
  • An angry cowboy named Jake once slammed a guest’s door and locked it.
    Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Irked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irked. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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