irritate

1 to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts constant chatter irritated the student, who was trying to concentrate on a hard assignment Synonyms of irritate aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, burn (up), chafe, eat, exasperate, frost, gall, get, grate, gripe, hack (off), irk, itch, nark [British], nettle, peeve, persecute, pique, put out, rasp, rile, ruffle, spite, vex Words Related to irritate hassle, heckle; nag; inflame (also enflame), provoke, rouse; badger, bait, bullyrag (also ballyrag), devil, hagride, harass, harry, pester, plague, tease; anger, antagonize, enrage, incense, infuriate, madden, rankle, roil; agitate, discomfort, discompose, disquiet, distress, exercise, freak (out), fret, perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry; affront, insult, miff, offend, outrage Phrases get one's goat, get on one's nerves, get to, rub the wrong way, set one's teeth on edge, stick in one's craw, wear on Near Antonyms of irritate appease, conciliate, mollify, oblige, pacify, placate, propitiate; delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy; assure, cheer, comfort, console, content, quiet, reassure, solace, soothe

2 to make sore by continued rubbing new shoes usually irritate my feet Synonyms of irritate abrade, excoriate, fret, gall, chafeWords Related to irritate graze, scrape, scratch; burn, inflame (also enflame); flay, peel, skin