ENGLISH
REFERENCE

annoy

v.
B1 Intermediate Oxford US //əˈnɔɪ// UK //ɐnˈɔɪ// an·noy Archaic General-service Literary

v. to make someone feel slightly angry or lose their patience. You use this when someone does something small that bothers you.

v. to irritate or disturb someone, typically through repeated or persistent actions. Transitive — requires a direct object representing the person or entity being bothered.


SIMPLE

The loud music next door began to annoy me.

CONTEXTUAL

It really started to annoy the passengers when the train stopped for the third time without any explanation.

COMPLEX

While a single interruption might be overlooked, the constant tapping of his pen began to annoy his colleagues to the point of genuine distraction.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English anoyen, from Old French anoier (“to bother, disturb”), from Late Latin inodiāre (“to make loathsome”), derived from Latin odium (“loathing, hatred”). Displaced native Old English dreċċan, gremman.

Etymology 2

From Middle English anoy, from Old French enui. Doublet of ennui.

Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object. It is frequently used in the passive voice ('to be annoyed') followed by the prepositions 'by' or 'with'.

Pitfall

It annoys to me when it rains.It annoys me when it rains.Annoy is a transitive verb and takes a direct object; it does not take the preposition 'to' before the person.

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