irritability

noun

ˌir-ə-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē How to pronounce irritability (audio)
Definition of irritabilitynext
as in irritableness
readiness to show annoyance or impatience the librarian's well-known irritability makes students hesitant to ask questions

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 irritability Heat exhaustion symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness, weakness, irritability, thirst, heavy sweating, high body temperature and decreased urine output. — Lauren Victory, CBS News, 30 June 2026 Still, multitasking can lead to careless errors, irritability or burnout, so take it easy. — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026 Professionals must recognize early signs of overwork, such as fatigue or irritability, as crucial data to prevent burnout. — Sho Dewan, Forbes.com, 25 June 2026 Severe symptoms include crying without tears, extreme irritability, fewer wet diapers, vomiting or diarrhoea, and sunken eyes or forehead. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 23 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for irritability
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irritability
  1. aggression
  2. aggressiveness
  3. anger
  4. crankiness
  5. sensitivity
  6. grouchiness
  7. petulance
  8. hostility
Noun
  • Yet the franchise, for all its mayhem, didn’t run on belligerence, or at least channelled its aggression in a disarming way.
    — Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
  • Even after the sub-par performance against Paraguay – admittedly, the South Americans’ physicality and aggression contributed to that – the fans’ belief never wavered.
    — Ben Church, CNN Money, 10 July 2026
Definition of aggression
Noun
  • No matter how much confidence and aggressiveness Zverev is playing with, the final is still Sinner’s to lose.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 12 July 2026
  • Cannon breaks down the accountability, aggressiveness and the perspective needed to play effective defense after the team’s reset week.
    — John W. Davis, Oc Register, 5 July 2026
Definition of aggressiveness
Noun
  • But no one was happy, particularly fans of the singer who reacted with anger at the unauthorized use.
    — StyleCaster Editors, StyleCaster, 9 July 2026
  • But the real anger belongs to the narrator herself, who berates herself for bringing a succession of troubled men into her son’s life.
    — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 9 July 2026
Definition of anger
Noun
  • How to handle it A lot of Virgo’s crankiness can be soothed with helping them get organized and practice self-compassion.
    — Maressa Brown, Parents, 18 June 2026
  • Bumping into someone wasn’t met with frustration, but with a grin and a comment about the Knicks, as if the entire city had agreed to give each other a pass from the stereotypical crankiness for one single night.
    — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 14 June 2026
Definition of crankiness
Noun
  • The mouse can also function as a gaming steering wheel alternative to large wheels or inaccurate keyboards, and the sensitivity setting can be adjusted via AutoHotKey to preferred comfort driving levels.
    — Shirl Leigh July 12, New Atlas, 12 July 2026
  • From there, symptoms such as pressure, nausea, light sensitivity, and dizziness can occur.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 11 July 2026
Definition of sensitivity
Noun
  • Vince Gilligan moved to Apple and returned to his X-Files roots for the sci-fi horror dramatic comedy Pluribus, which used its ultra-mysterious and yet ultra-familiar genre trappings for a droll meditation on the eternal clash between collective joy and individual grouchiness.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 17 Nov. 2025
  • Emily is also struggling with Annabelle, who has inherited her mom’s attitude and the grouchiness of any adolescent forced to grow up with an Evolution Media camera crew in her home.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025
Definition of grouchiness
Noun
  • Such petulance does not merit responsible high public office.
    — Letters to the Editor, Hartford Courant, 15 June 2026
  • In fact, Mount’s petulance was a way to distract the referee from Fernandes’s antics and take a late yellow card on his captain’s behalf.
    — Carl Anka, New York Times, 26 May 2026
Definition of petulance
Noun
  • Renewed hostilities in the Persian Gulf also complicate the resumption of refining in the Middle East.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
  • However, Democratic lawmakers have denounced the resumption of the Iran war and the return to active hostilities, despite the interim cease-fire agreement signed June 17.
    — Callum Sutherland, Time, 14 July 2026
Definition of hostility

Browse Nearby Words

irrigating
irritability
irritable
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Irritability.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irritability. Accessed 15 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on irritability

Nglish: Translation of irritability for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about irritability

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All