1
as in annoys
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
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Recent Examples of irritates
If something irritates you, the Aries moon encourages you to speak up.
—
Usa Today, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
There’s another distinctly New York habit that irritates Manville — at the end of the performances, theatergoers leap to their feat, not just to applaud, but to whip out their cellphones to record the curtain call.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 16 Jan. 2026
Somehow, this irritates Helen even more.
—Sadia Shepard, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
His combative political persona irritates liberal critics.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 31 Dec. 2025
In other words, alcohol disrupts hydration, irritates the gut, inflames blood vessels, messes with sleep, and forces your liver into metabolic overdrive.
—Ciara Lucas, SELF, 30 Dec. 2025
Without this process, the air would be colder and drier, which irritates and constricts the airways and can lead to inflammation.
—Sarah Philip, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2025
Insoluble fiber mildly irritates the intestinal lining, stimulating the secretion of water and mucus, which encourages the movement of stool.
—Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 14 Nov. 2025
But Chelsea won’t have it, shutting the whole thing down in a way that clearly irritates her.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
Usa Today, USA Today, 21 Feb. 2026
There’s another distinctly New York habit that irritates Manville — at the end of the performances, theatergoers leap to their feat, not just to applaud, but to whip out their cellphones to record the curtain call.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 16 Jan. 2026
Somehow, this irritates Helen even more.
—Sadia Shepard, New Yorker, 11 Jan. 2026
His combative political persona irritates liberal critics.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 31 Dec. 2025
In other words, alcohol disrupts hydration, irritates the gut, inflames blood vessels, messes with sleep, and forces your liver into metabolic overdrive.
—Ciara Lucas, SELF, 30 Dec. 2025
Without this process, the air would be colder and drier, which irritates and constricts the airways and can lead to inflammation.
—Sarah Philip, Popular Science, 4 Dec. 2025
Insoluble fiber mildly irritates the intestinal lining, stimulating the secretion of water and mucus, which encourages the movement of stool.
—Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 14 Nov. 2025
But Chelsea won’t have it, shutting the whole thing down in a way that clearly irritates her.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irritates
Verb
-
What is the pettiest thing that annoys you during a race weekend?—
Jeff Gluck,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Think of something that annoys you, connect it to masculinity by adding bro, and proceed as though that bro were a category of person.—
Dan Brooks,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Keep clean door mats inside and outside entrance areas to trap gritty dirt that scratches floors.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Records of this meeting clearly indicate that each of these was in dire need of snuggling, as well as Cabinet-level scratches underneath its ears.—
Daniel Engber,
The Atlantic,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
That notion clearly bothers Schoen and the organization.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
3 Mar. 2026
-
One thing that bothers him, though, is the calls from GVA asking for cash to shore up financing on the underwater properties as loan rates skyrocketed and monthly debt servicing led to losses.—
Paul Flahive,
Austin American Statesman,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
As John's disciplinary hearing draws ever closer, the protagonist increasingly chafes at his attempts to smooth over the situation.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Throughout, emotion churns and chafes against a backdrop of political unrest, corporate malfeasance, and the everyday horrors that erode modern life.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
China, which jails human rights activists in Hong Kong, persecutes Uyghurs, has killed hundreds of thousands of Tibetans and has committed genocide against the Falun Gong, is on the UN Human Rights Council.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
18 Feb. 2026
-
In Russia, the civilian repressive apparatus persecutes the military, which leaps at every chance for revenge.—
Stephen Kotkin,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Woodcutters sets forth the musings of a narrator sitting in an armchair at a dinner party who excoriates the literary awards establishments of his native land (and by extension all lands that are host to a robust bourgeoisie).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Travelers are advised to inspect hotel rooms upon arrival and use precautions like plastic bags or luggage liners to prevent bringing bed bugs home.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Jan. 2026
-
Check the head and base and foot of the bed, peeling back the top sheet to look for evidence on mattress covers, box springs, dust ruffles, and the headboard—and most importantly, the mattress seams and piping because bed bugs like to hide in cracks and crevices.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
25 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
To show me, Max reaches a metal pick into a tank of clear water and scrapes a white line that seems to hover in the center of the tank.—
Blair Braverman,
Outside,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Meyer helped design a tracking system that scrapes data from Zillow to detect price hikes greater than 10%.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irritates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irritates. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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