1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

irritated 1 of 2

adjective

ˈir-ə-ˌtā-təd How to pronounce irritated (audio)
Definition of irritatednext
as in annoyed
subjected to and reacting with irritation irritated viewers were bombarding the station with complaints about the game's delayed start

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

irritated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of irritate
1
as in bothered
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 & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in scratched
to make sore by continued rubbing new shoes usually irritate my feet

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 irritated
Adjective
Nice people may of course become irritated, disappointed, jealous, or defensive, since niceness does not require sainthood. — Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 Soto, looking irritated, reaches out and slaps him upside the head. — Sylvia Varnham O’Regan, Vanity Fair, 25 Aug. 2026
Verb
But one snafu irritated a sizable portion of the more than 3,000 students gathered at Arie Crown Theater to hear the astronauts discuss their mission. — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2026 Armenia’s pivot to the West has irritated the Kremlin, however. — Nathan Hodge, CNN Money, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for irritated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irritated
  1. annoyed
  2. bothered
  3. scratched
  4. exasperated
  5. bugged
  6. scraped
  7. angry
  8. persecuted
Adjective
  • Issa acts on that notion by encouraging a threesome between herself, Paul Baker, and Anton, who has spent much of the episode getting increasingly annoyed about being left out of everyone else’s scheming.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Long enough for the audience to feel annoyed and become squeamish.
    — Alex Jovanovich, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of annoyed
Verb
  • The roundtable of women appear hot and bothered that de Lesseps interrupted Patton’s touching tribute to her mom.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Something about the story bothered de Aguiar Alves at the time.
    — Matt von Hippel, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of bothered
Verb
  • The Dodgers scratched Ohtani from their upcoming probables list one day later.
    — Katie Woo, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The agency also warned the public to avoid contact with wildlife and sick mammals, and to seek medical care if someone is bitten or scratched.
    — Aria Bendix, NBC news, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of scratched
Adjective
  • Despite riders growing ever more exasperated with having to race in extreme heat, the Vuelta a España race organizer is adamant that major changes to the cycling calendar will not be contemplated as a solution to combat excessive temperatures.
    — Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • John Stewart’s exasperated adieu to his alien abductors doubles as a meta acknowledgement of Episode 2’s exposition-heavy plotting.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of exasperated
Verb
  • The indictment revealed that prosecutors had bugged the Aisenbergs' home for three months after Sabrina's disappearance.
    — Curran Rastogi, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, a law-enforcement agency known as NABU, had bugged Mindich’s apartment in Kyiv, and detectives picked up his conversations about Fire Point.
    — Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 17 July 2026
Definition of bugged
Verb
  • For months, layer after layer of paint and grime were scraped away from the original wood and brick to reveal traces of different eras in the building's history.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The letter calls for the museum to release the full list of artworks scraped for the Beeple piece.
    — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of scraped
Adjective
  • Why would anyone want to do this in a game about an angry, unkillable mutant with claws sharp enough to cut through space-time?
    — Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Seehorn carried a heavy load as its lead, playing a sad, angry woman forced to save the world from happiness and the hive mind.
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of angry
Verb
  • Many see Trump as the only president to defend Nigerian Christians; his administration claims they are being persecuted by Islamist groups.
    — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Fernanda risked her life not only to protect works of art during the war, but also to help politically persecuted people escape the Fascist regime.
    — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of persecuted

Browse Nearby Words

irritate
irritated
irritates
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Irritated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irritated. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of facsimile

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
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
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All