ENGLISH
REFERENCE

irritate

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈɪɹɪˌteɪt// UK //ˈɪɹɪtˌeɪt// ir·ri·tate Archaic

v. to make someone feel annoyed or slightly angry. It can also mean to make a part of your body feel sore or itchy.

v. to provoke impatience, anger, or annoyance in another person; to cause physical inflammation or discomfort in a body part.


SIMPLE

The loud music began to irritate the neighbors.

CONTEXTUAL

Harsh chemicals in some laundry detergents can irritate sensitive skin and cause a red rash.

COMPLEX

While the constant interruptions were intended to be helpful, they served only to irritate the lead researcher, who was attempting to finalize the data set before the deadline.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin irrītātus, perfect passive participle of irrītō (“excite, irritate, incite, stimulate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin irritātus, perfect passive participle of irritō (“to invalidate, render void, annul”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from irritus (“invalid”), the equivalent of in- + ratus (“valid, established, fixed”).

Usage

The verb is transitive and takes a direct object.

Pitfall

The smoke irritated to my eyesThe smoke irritated my eyesIrritate is a transitive verb and does not require a preposition before the object.

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