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 irritable Besides sleepiness, some parents report that their kids are irritable after anesthesia, though this is less common.5 Nausea or Vomiting Some children will experience nausea or even vomiting. ​wendy Wisner, Parents, 9 Sep. 2025 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 If you are rushed or irritable, say so. Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025 Viva says menopause left her tired and irritable. Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for irritable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irritable
Adjective
  • The model was a vision on the runway in a fiery red lingerie set, complete with a long train.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Stanley, Simmons and Criss were dismayed by his appearance but sufficiently impressed with his fiery lead guitar work, and he was invited to join a few weeks later.
    Jem Aswad, Variety, 16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • Shot in Calgary, the show is from Kurt Sutter but the irascible writer-producer stepped away from the drama in October of 2024.
    Lynette Rice, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2025
  • If the lead-up to Benfica’s visit, and even the game itself, had the feel of a reunion at times, there were still flashes of the irascible Mourinho of old.
    Stuart James, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • Trump’s treating these Epstein files like a grumpy old neighbor on Halloween.
    Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2025
  • And even the grumpiest teen would love this set of Emotional Support Chicken Nuggets.
    Clint Davis, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Townsend will play Norm Stinson, an excellent (and grouchy) veteran basketball coach who knows how to get the best out of his teams, but not always how to communicate.
    Denise Petski, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Leading up to kickoff of Belichick’s debut at Chapel Hill, college football, this community and certainly the TV networks were thrilled with the prospect of this grouchy old man turning an irrelevant football team into something worth watching.
    Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Heroine Elizabeth is famous for her own refusals, but she’s actually first caught in the middle of two acts of petulant male defiance.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
  • That her response was aggressive, defensive and petulant is even better.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Leah stayed crabby through dinner.
    Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Attend the Fiddler Crab Festival Every February over Presidents’ Day weekend, the three-day Fiddler Crab Festival brings crabby fun and community pride to Steinhatchee.
    Skye Sherman, Southern Living, 5 July 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Irritable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irritable. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on irritable

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!