Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Irritating |
IrritatingAdjective1. Causing irritation or annoyance; "tapping an annoying rhythm on his glass with his fork"; "aircraft noise is particularly bothersome near the airport"; "found it galling to have to ask permission"; "an irritating delay"; "nettlesome paperwork"; "a pesky mosquito"; "swarms of pestering gnats"; "a plaguey newfangled safety catch"; "a teasing and persistent thought annoyed him"; "a vexatious child"; "it is vexing to have to admit you are wrong". 2. (used of physical stimuli) serving to stimulate or excite; "an irritative agent". 3. Causing physical discomfort; "bites of black flies are more than irritating; they can be very painful". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "irritating" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references) |
Synonyms: IrritatingSynonyms: annoying (adj), bothersome (adj), galling (adj), irritative (adj), nettlesome (adj), painful (adj), pesky (adj), pestering (adj), pestiferous (adj), plaguey (adj), plaguy (adj), teasing (adj), vexatious (adj), vexing (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Hate | Insulting, irritating, provoking. |
Pain | Irritating, provoking, stinging, annoying, aggravating, mortifying, galling; unaccommodating, invidious, vexatious; troublesome, tiresome, irksome, wearisome; plaguing, plaguy; awkward. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Sounded like an annoying bug asking me irritating questions (101 Dalmatians; writing credit: John Hughes) It's irritating my nose and wrinkling my suit (Radioactive Dreams; writing credit: Albert Pyun) Very Irritating Pains-in-the-butt (Caroline in the City; writing credit: Angela Carneiro) Their heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags. They're nothing but exasperating, irritating, vacillating, calculating, agitating, maddening and infuriating hags (My Fair Lady; writing credit: George Bernard Shaw; Alan Jay Lerner) Won't you join me in my irritating little song (VeggieTales: Josh and the Big Wall!; writing credit: Rob Das) | |
Lyrics | That irritating song (Achy Breaky Song; performing artist: Weird Al Yankovic) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Play | Caption |
 | Drone; droning; buzz; insect; pest; annoyance; annoying; irritation; irritating. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | A vaginal discharge that has an odor or that is irritating is usually an abnormal discharge. (references) | |
Stay away from fried, greasy, or highly spiced foods, too. They are irritating and can cause diarrhea and cramping. (references) | ||
However, talk to your health care professional before you try anal ointments and creams because some have ingredients that can be irritating. (references) | ||
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | PHONOGRAPH, n. An irritating toy that restores life to dead noises. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Irritating" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 98.01% of the time. "Irritating" is used about 403 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 98.01% | 395 | 14,105 |
| Lexical Verb (-ing form) | 1.99% | 8 | 124,375 |
| Total | 100.00% | 403 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expression using "irritating": annoying galling chafing irritating nettlesome pesky pestiferous pestilent plaguy plaguey teasing vexatious vexing. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "irritating": counter-irritating, eye-irritating, non-irritating, nose-irritating. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
irritating | 3 |
irritating neighbor | 2 |
irritating maze | 2 |
irritating stick | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "irritating"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | i nevrikosshëm. (various references) | |
Arabic | مهاج (excited, vexing), منرفز (edgy), مغضب (enraging, exasperating, infuriating, maddening, provocative, provoking), مزعج (aggravating, annoying, bore, bothering, bothersome, disagreeable, disquieting, disturber, disturbing, galling, grating, harsh, horrid, importunate, importune, intruder, irksome, mean, mischievous, offensive, pain in the neck, pestilential, plaguy, provoking, terrible, tiresome, troubled, troublesome, ugly, uncomfortable, unpleasant, upsetting, vexatious, vexing, wicked, worrisome), مضايق (annoying, bothersome, disagreeable, disturbing, irksome, tease, teaser, troublesome, vexatious, vexing). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | който нервира (irritative), който изважда от търпение, възбуждащ (breathtaking, excitant, inflammatory, rousing, stimulant), дразнещ (abrasive, dirty, exasperating, harassing, irritant, irritative, jarring, pestiferous, provocative, raspy, trying, vexatious), досаден (aggravating, annoying, boring, bothersome, importunate, intrusive, irksome, lengthy, long winded, monotonous, mundane, obtrusive, officious, pain in the neck, painful, pesky, pestiferous, pestilent, plaguesome, plaguy, ponderous, prolix, provoking, tedious, tiresome, tiring, vexatious, weariful, wearisome, weary). (various references) | |
Chinese | 激' (Exasperate, exasperated, Exasperating, infuriate, infuriated, infuriating, irritate, irritated, irritation). (various references) | |
Czech | znervózòující, otravný (aggravating, boring, poisonous, sticky), nepříjemný (annoying, awkward, difficult, disagreeable, embarrassing, irksome, miserable, nasty, objectionable, sticky, troublesome, uncomfortable, uncongenial, uneasy, unpleasant, unsavory, untoward, vexatious). (various references) | |
Danish | irriterer åndedrætsorganerne og huden (irritating to respiratory system and skin), irriterer åndedrætsorganerne (irritating to respiratory system), irriterer øjnene,åndedrætsorganerne og huden (irritating to eyes, respiratory system and skin), irriterer øjnene og åndedrætsorganerne (irritating to eyes and respiratory system), R37/38 (irritating to respiratory system and skin), R37 (irritating to respiratory system), R36/37/38 (irritating to eyes, respiratory system and skin), R36/37 (irritating to eyes and respiratory system). (various references) | |
Dutch | irritant, storend (nasty, troublesome), hinderlijk (troublesome), ergerlijk. (various references) | |
Finnish | tuskastuttava (vexatious). (various references) | |
French | irritant (irksome, irritant), vibrant, enquiquinant, agacant, agaçant. (various references) | |
German | irritierend (vexing), ärgernd (chagrining, fretting, galling, huffing, irking, peeving, riling, spiting). (various references) | |
Greek | ενοχλητικός (disturbing, grating, pesky, troublesome, trying). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מעצבן (annoying, fidgety, making nervous), מ'ר" (case, drawer, itchy), "ר'ז" (angering, provoking, vexation). (various references) | |
Hungarian | idegesítõ (nerve racking, plaguy), zavaró (annoying, blanketing, bothering, disturber, disturbing, embarrassing, incommodious, interfering, perplexing, unsettling, violator). (various references) | |
Indonesian | menggatalkan (cause to itch). (various references) | |
Italian | irritante (abrading, aggravating, annoying, grating, irritant, nervy, provoking, shocking, vexatious), indisponente (stroppy, sullen), stizzito (angry, annoyed, fretful). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 辛気臭い (boring, fretful), 腹立たしい , 鈍臭い (slow, stupid), 糜爛性 (poisonous), 焦れったい (impatient, vexing), もし可能ならば (all the way, awfully, bashfully, be restless, completely, desperately, dishevelled, erection, farther, feel fuzzy, feel impatient, feel sad, fidget, flying squirrel, frightfully, gusto, hazy, hesitantly, if possible, impatient, inefficient, is something that, is that which, Japanese mafia, longer, misty, more, mumble, not quick enough, shaggy, slow, someone full of zest, swelling, tantalizing, tardy, the "tent" an erection makes against pants or bedsheets, to do something the speaker regrets, to squirm, tousled, unkempt, violently, women's work pants, worry about, Yakuza). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | し"きくさい (boring, fretful), びら"せい (poisonous), のろくさい (slow, stupid), ど"くさい (slow, stupid), もどかしい (feel impatient, not quick enough, tantalizing, tardy), じれったい (impatient, vexing), はら たしい. (various references) | |
Korean | 자극 (irritation, Prompting, stimulating, stimulation, Stimuli, stimulus). (various references) | |
Manx | farbagh (corrosive, inflammation, rankling), brasnee (affronting, aggravating, baiting, insulting, jarring). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | irritatingay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | irritativo (irritative), irritante (acrid, annoying, grating, provocative, provoking). (various references) | |
Romanian | iritant (aggravating, exasperating, galling, irritant, vexatious, vexing), supãrãtor (annoying, bad, bothersome, disappointing, dreadful, grating, hurtful, importunate, inconvenient, inopportune, intrusively, invidious, irksome, irritatingly, jumpy, mischief-makering, niggling, obtrusively, painful, provoking, provokingly, tedious, troublesome, unfortunate, unlucky, unwelcome, vexatious, vexing), enervant (aggravating, annoying, irksome, irritatingly, jumpy, nerve racking, nervous, vexatious), agasant (aggravating, annoying, obtrusively). (various references) | |
Russian | раздражающий (exasperating, grating, irritative, nerve racking, nerve-racking, provoking, sore, vexing). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | koji nadražuje (stimulant, stimulating), koji iritira (irritant). (various references) | |
Spanish | irritante (aggravating, exasperating, galling, grating, irritant, irritative, provoking), enojoso (aggravating, angry, annoyed, annoying, fretful). (various references) | |
Swedish | retande (excitant, excitative, excitatory, exciting, irritant, irritative, stimulating). (various references) | |
Turkish | tahriş edici (irritant), sinirlendirici (abrasive, aggravating, annoying, irritant, itching, maddening, vexing), sinirlendiren (irritant, nerve racking, nerve-wracking), sinir bozucu (frustrating, infuriating, itching, nerve racking, nerve-wracking, pesky), rahatsız etme (annoyance, baiting, botheration, disturbing), rahatsız edici (annoying, besetting, disturbing, fraught, haunting, hot, inconvenient, irritant, noisy, pesky, plaguesome, rough, strident, uncomfortable, uneasy, unrestful, worrying), kaşındıran (itching, scratchy, stinging), kaşındırıcı (itching, stinging), kızdırıcı (annoying, irritant, vexing). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | l m tấy lên, l m phát cáu (irritative). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Middle French | 1400-1600 | piquant. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "irritating": irritatingly. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "irritating": nonirritating. (additional references) | |
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"Irritating" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: irratating. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "irritating" (pronounced i"rutā'ting) |
| 6 | -u t ā' t i ng | agitating, debilitating, facilitating, gravitating, hesitating, imitating, incapacitating, levitating, meditating, necessitating, precipitating, rehabilitating, resuscitating. |
| 5 | -t ā' t i ng | devastating, dictating, overstating, rotating, understating. |
| 4 | -ā' t i ng | anticipating, appreciating, appropriating, approximating, arbitrating, abrogating, accelerating, accentuating, accommodating, abbreviating, abdicating, accumulating, activating, adjudicating, administrating, advocating, affiliating, aggravating, alienating, alleviating, allocating, alternating, articulating, assassinating, assimilating, associating, authenticating, automating, calculating, captivating, castigating, castrating, celebrating, chlorinating, circulating, coagulating, collaborating, commemorating, communicating, compensating, complicating, concentrating, confiscating, congratulating, consolidating, consummating, contaminating, contemplating, cooperating, coordinating, corroborating, culminating, cultivating, decaffeinating, decelerating, decimating, decorating, dedicating, degenerating, delegating, deliberating, delineating, demonstrating, denigrating, deprecating, depreciating, deregulating, designating, deteriorating, detonating, differentiating, discriminating, disintegrating, disseminating, dissipating, domesticating, dominating, donating, duplicating, educating, elaborating, electroplating, elevating, eliminating, emanating, emigrating, emulating, encapsulating, enunciating, equivocating, eradicating, escalating, estimating, evacuating, evaluating, evaporating, exacerbating, exaggerating, exasperating, excavating, excoriating, excruciating, exhilarating, exonerating, extenuating, exterminating, extrapolating, fabricating, fascinating, fluctuating, formulating, frustrating, generating, graduating, gyrating, humiliating, hydrogenating, illuminating, illustrating, impersonating, implicating, inaugurating, incarcerating, incinerating, incorporating, incriminating, incubating, indicating, infatuating, infiltrating, infuriating, ingratiating, initiating, instigating, insulating, integrating, interrogating, intimidating, intoxicating, inundating, invalidating, investigating, invigorating, isolating, laminating, legislating, liberating, liquidating, litigating, locating, lubricating, mandating, manipulating, masturbating, mediating, migrating, misappropriating, mitigating, moderating, motivating, mutilating, nauseating, navigating, negotiating, nitrating, nominating, nonoperating, obliterating, obviating, officiating, operating, orchestrating, originating, oscillating, overestimating, participating, penetrating, percolating, permeating, perpetrating, perpetuating, placating, pontificating, populating, predominating, procrastinating, prognosticating, proliferating, promulgating, propagating, pulsating, radiating, reactivating, reallocating, recalculating, reciprocating, recreating, recuperating, redecorating, reevaluating, regenerating, regulating, reincorporating, reinvigorating, reiterating, rejuvenating, relegating, renegotiating, renovating, repatriating, replicating, repudiating, resonating, retaliating, reverberating, salivating, saturating, segregating, separating, simulating, speculating, stagnating, stimulating, stipulating, subordinating, suffocating, syndicating, tabulating, terminating, titillating, tolerating, underestimating, undulating, urinating, vacillating, validating, ventilating. |
| 3 | -t i ng | annotating, appointing, abutting, accenting, accepting, abating, abducting, abetting, aborting, accosting, accounting, accrediting, acquitting, acting, adapting, addicting, adjusting, admitting, adopting, affecting, afflicting, airlifting, alerting, allotting, amounting, arresting, assaulting, asserting, assisting, attempting, attesting, attracting, attributing, auditing, augmenting, averting, awaiting, babysitting, backbiting, baiting, balloting, bankrupting, batting, beating, befitting, begetting, belting, benefiting, benefitting, berating, besetting, besting, betting, biting, bitting, blacklisting, blanketing, blasting, bloating, bloodletting, blunting, boasting, boating, bolting, boosting, booting, boycotting, breasting, broadcasting, budgeting, bullfighting, bunting, bursting, busting, butting, carpeting, carting, casting, catapulting, cavorting, cementing, chanting, charting, chatting, cheating, circumventing, citing, clotting, coasting, coating, coexisting, cohabiting, collecting, combating, combatting, comforting, commenting, committing, commuting, competing, complementing, completing, complimenting, composting, computing, concocting, conducting, conflicting, confronting, connecting, consenting, consisting, consorting, constituting, constricting, constructing, consulting, contacting, contesting, contracting, contradicting, contrasting, contributing, converting, convicting, copycatting, correcting, correlating, corrupting, costing, counteracting, Counterfeiting, counting, courting, crafting, crating, creating, crediting, cresting, cutting, darting, dating, daunting, debating, decanting, deducting, defaulting, defeating, defecting, deflating, deflecting, defrosting, deleting, delighting, delisting, denting, departing, depicting, depleting, deporting, depositing, deserting, destructing, detecting, detracting, devoting, dieting, digesting, diluting, directing, disappointing, disconcerting, disconnecting, discounting, discrediting, disgusting, disorienting, dispiriting, disputing, disquieting, disrespecting, disrupting, dissecting, dissenting, distorting, distracting, distributing, districting, diverting, divesting, documenting, doting, dotting, doubting, drafting, drifting, dusting, eating, editing, effecting, elating, electing, eliciting, emitting, enacting, enchanting, encrusting, enlisting, entrusting, equating, erecting, erupting, escorting, everlasting, evicting, exacting, exalting, excepting, exciting, executing, exempting, exerting, exhausting, exhibiting, exhorting, existing, exiting, expecting, expediting, experimenting, exploiting, exporting, extorting, extracting, extraditing, fainting, fasting, faulting, feasting, fermenting, ferreting, Fetting, fidgeting, fighting, fingerprinting, firefighting, fitting, flaunting, fleeting, flirting, flitting, floating, flouting, fomenting, footing, footnoting, forecasting, forfeiting, forgetting, fragmenting, fretting, fronting, frosting, fruiting, getting, gifting, glinting, gloating, grafting, granting, grating, greeting, gritting, grouting, grunting, gunfighting, gusting, gutting, hallucinating, halting, handwriting, harvesting, Hasting, hating, haunting, heating, highlighting, hinting, hitting, hoisting, homeporting, hosting, hunting, hurting, igniting, impacting, imparting, implanting, implementing, importing, imprinting, inciting, indicting, infecting, infighting, inflating, inflicting, ingesting, inhabiting, inheriting, inhibiting, injecting, innovating, inserting, insinuating, insisting, inspecting, instituting, instructing, insulting, interacting, intercepting, interdicting, interesting, interpreting, interrupting, intersecting, inventing, investing, inviting, jetting, jolting, jousting, jutting, kiting, knitting, lactating, lambasting, lamenting, lasting, letting, lifting, lighting, limiting, listing, looting, lusting, malting, manifesting, marketing, marting, mating, matting, meeting, melting, minting, misinterpreting, misrepresenting, misstating, mistreating, molesting, molting, moonlighting, mounting, mutating, muting, negating, neglecting, nesting, netting, nonbiting, nonsporting, nonvoting, noting, Nutting, objecting, obstructing, offsetting, omitting, opting, orbiting, ousting, Outfitting, outing, outwitting, overeating, overheating, overreacting, overshooting, painting, panting, parachuting, parenting, parting, pasting, patenting, patting, perfecting, permitting, persecuting, persisting, perverting, petting, picketing, piloting, pinpointing, pirating, pitting, planting, plating, plotting, plummeting, pocketing, pointing, polluting, porting, posting, pouting, predicting, preempting, preexisting, presenting, preventing, printing, profiting, prohibiting, projecting, promoting, prompting, prosecuting, prospecting, protecting, protesting, purporting, putting, quieting, quilting, quitting, quoting, rafting, ranting, ratcheting, rating, reacting, readjusting, reasserting, rebutting, recanting, recasting, reciting, recollecting, reconnecting, reconstituting, reconstructing, recounting, recruiting, redacting, redirecting, redistributing, redistricting, reelecting, refitting, reflecting, refuting, regretting, reigniting, reinstating, reinstituting, reinterpreting, reinventing, reinvesting, rejecting, relating, relenting, relocating, remarketing, renting, repainting, repeating, replanting, reporting, representing, reprinting, requesting, rerouting, resenting, resisting, resorting, respecting, restarting, restating, resting, restricting, resubmitting, resulting, resurrecting, retesting, retracting, retreating, retrofitting, reuniting, reverting, revisiting, revolting, rewriting, rioting, riveting, roasting, rocketing, rooting, rotting, rusting, salting, saluting, scapegoating, scouting, sculpting, seating, sedating, selecting, setting, shafting, sheeting, shifting, shooting, shoplifting, shorting, shouting, shunting, shutting, sifting, sighting, siting, sitting, skating, skirting, skyrocketing, skywriting, slanting, slighting, slitting, slotting, smarting, smelting, snorting, soliciting, somersaulting, songwriting, sorting, spitting, splitting, sporting, spotlighting, spotting, spouting, sprinting, sprouting, spurting, squatting, squinting, squirting, starting, stating, strutting, subcontracting, subjecting, submitting, substituting, subtracting, subverting, suggesting, superconducting, supplanting, supplementing, supporting, surmounting, suspecting, sweating, Sweeting, tainting, targeting, tasting, taunting, telecommuting, telemarketing, tempting, tenting, testing, thermosetting, thrusting, thwarting, ticketing, tilting, toasting, tormenting, toting, touting, translating, transmitting, transplanting, transporting, treating, trotting, trumpeting, trusting, twisting, typecasting, typesetting, Typewriting, undercutting, underreporting, underwriting, unexciting, uninteresting, uninviting, uniting, unrelenting, unremitting, unseating, unstinting, unsuspecting, unwitting, updating, uplifting, uprooting, upsetting, vacating, vaulting, venting, vesting, vetting, vibrating, violating, visiting, vomiting, voting, wafting, waiting, wanting, wasting, weighting, weightlifting, wetting, whiting, wildcatting, wilting, witting, wresting, writing, yachting. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-g-i-i-i-n-r-r-t-t" | |
-2 letters: attiring, irritant. | |
-3 letters: airting, ratting, tarring, tarting. | |
-4 letters: airing, gittin, gratin, raring, rating, taring, tiring, titian. | |
-5 letters: garni, giant, gnarr, grain, grant, iring, riant, taint, titan, tragi, train, trait. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-g-i-i-i-n-r-r-t-t" | |
+2 letters: irritatingly. | |
+3 letters: nonirritating. | |
+4 letters: repartitioning, repristinating. | |
+5 letters: misregistration, transistorising, transistorizing, triangularities. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Sounds 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Translations: Ancient | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
