as in fiery
easily irritated or annoyed
that irritable old man always yells at people to stay off of his lawn
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of irritable
Studies have found that people can feel anxious, irritable, angry or lethargic several hours after eating foods packed in refined carbohydrates and sugars.
—
Michaeleen Doucleff, NPR, 24 Nov. 2025
Any mom who’s ever felt overstimulated, irritable, or exhausted will recognize the truth in this candid admission.
—Hannah Silverman, Parents, 15 Nov. 2025
Most cases clear up on their own without complications, but parents should contact a doctor if a child cannot keep fluids down, has a high fever lasting more than a few days or seems unusually drowsy or irritable.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2025
Also known as irritable hip, the condition is due to inflammation of the hip joint lining.
—Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irritable
Michaeleen Doucleff, NPR, 24 Nov. 2025
Any mom who’s ever felt overstimulated, irritable, or exhausted will recognize the truth in this candid admission.
—Hannah Silverman, Parents, 15 Nov. 2025
Most cases clear up on their own without complications, but parents should contact a doctor if a child cannot keep fluids down, has a high fever lasting more than a few days or seems unusually drowsy or irritable.
—Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2025
Also known as irritable hip, the condition is due to inflammation of the hip joint lining.
—Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irritable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irritable
Adjective
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As one of Cohen's most frequent guests on his late-night talk show Watch What Happens Live, Rapaport has generated some of its most viral and debated moments, like a fiery 2018 spat between the actor and Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kenya Moore.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Jan. 2026
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Nature—and its subtlest micro-shifts—are the main protagonists, from the green humidity of summer, the sound of cicadas ringing thick in the air to the fiery blaze of autumn leaves (courtesy of approximately 3,000 Japanese maple trees) and the fresh cloud-like bursts of springtime sakura.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Instead, Helen is allowed to be irritable and anti-social, chain-smoking and snappish, without the filmmaker casting judgment.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
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Harriette Cole: My twins are getting snappish over college acceptance Asking Eric: A cemetery guard ruined my father’s funeral, and that was just the start This includes stating your belief that your explanations may not be believed.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
7 May 2025
Adjective
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As a ballplayer, Kent was as irascible as Bonds; the two alphas reportedly brawled behind clubhouse doors, and famously clashed in the dugout during a 2002 game, when Bonds lunged for Kent’s throat and pushed him against the wall.—
Jeremy Collins,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
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Nothing adds depth to an irascible curmudgeon quite like an irrational love of pets that do not love you back.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
3 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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While grunge seemed peevish, grim, defeatist, and dour—and extended the kind of us-vs.-them culture most famously centered by the indie rock of the ’80s and ’90s, Oasis was celebratory, communal, and democratic while exploring themes of alienation, escape, and fantasies of triumph.—
Corey Seymour,
Vogue,
28 July 2025
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Thousands of people — displaced by disaster, their past lives gone up in smoke — are hostage to the whims of a peevish president who always puts his feelings first and cares nothing for the greater good.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
22 June 2025
Adjective
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The restaurant team wears its impressive training lightly, dipping into an encyclopedic knowledge of Sicilian wine and cheering up a grumpy toddler in the same breath.—
Rosalyn Wikeley,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Jan. 2026
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Not all of the jokes work, but even the grumpiest theatergoers will find plenty of laughs.—
Ross Raihala,
Twin Cities,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Today, a Luddite is your grandparent who keeps looking at the screen rather than the camera when on Zoom, the Boomer who types in all-capital letters, the grouchy man who refuses to get a smart phone, the professor spewing invective against Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
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For now, the contrast between Martin and his patients has a productive friction that gives Charles plenty of grouchy misanthropy to work with.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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This petulant man, who wields awesome power, also has the nuclear codes.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Jan. 2026
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This whole thing makes Sylvie seem so petulant and childish … really not like herself at all!—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
18 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Lucy Van Pelt Lucy is the crabby kid who always has something up her sleeve.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
6 Jan. 2026
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Leah stayed crabby through dinner.—
Kayla Grant,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irritable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irritable. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026.
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