irking

verb

present participle of irk
as in annoying
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts she irked her friend by chewing her gum loudly during the movie

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 irking The station played popular music only at night, irking listeners and causing pirate radio stations to proliferate. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026 But irking jealous opposing coaches with a little tampering is one thing. — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 11 June 2026 And analysts say that countries, including smaller developing markets, may be more wary of irking China, even to protect the growth of their own manufacturing sectors – especially when contending with a US trade war. — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 15 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irking
  1. annoying
  2. bothering
  3. irritating
  4. bugging
  5. persecuting
  6. aggravating
Verb
  • That unexpected fandom has grown over the past two years, with unlikely converts taking to the internet’s alleyways to spread the good word—and, in the process, annoying the doubters.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Kids in all three countries loved learning dances from TikTok and annoying their siblings.
    — Ryan Lenora Brown, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of annoying
Verb
  • Bri reached basically the same conclusion without bothering with the cardio experiment.
    — Kevin Fanady, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026
  • His work is autobiographical and based on whatever has been bothering him that year.
    — Anthony Solorzano, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of bothering
Verb
  • That mismatch can lead to issues ranging from irritating residue to expensive repairs.
    — Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Nov. 2026
  • These extra steps are irritating, as non-Amazon ereaders tend to be much more forgiving when loading your own media.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of irritating
Verb
  • The Department of Justice’s prosecution of a Saudi national for allegedly bugging an OpenAI conference room is causing anxiety among OpenAI employees, many of whom are foreign nationals.
    — Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
  • On Monday, a court granted the US government’s request to deny release of a former OpenAI engineer accused of bugging a top-secret conference room to steal the frontier lab’s secrets.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of bugging
Verb
  • Biden weaponized Law Enforcement against his political opponent, while also persecuting many other innocent people.
    — New York Times, New York Times, 11 June 2026
  • Jack Hayford, the founder of the King’s University, in Texas, claimed that the film was persecuting Christians, who only wanted to be treated equally.
    — Isaac Butler, New Yorker, 30 May 2026
Definition of persecuting
Verb
  • And those are things that end up aggravating behavioral health disabilities.
    — Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026
  • With Williams dealing with an injury that’s always tricky for players in this league, there’s no reason to rush him back and risk aggravating it again.
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of aggravating

Browse Nearby Words

irked
irking
irks
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Cite this Entry

“Irking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irking. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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