irritate

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

verb cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
verb excite to an abnormal condition, or chafe or inflame
verb excite to some characteristic action or condition, such as motion, contraction, or nervous impulse, by the application of a stimulus

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

What was irritating this mollusk? — Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas: An Underwater Tour of the World, Jules Verne
Nay—the thought actually irritated me. — The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
He appeared irritated at my persistence. — Three men on the bummel, Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome

annoy, rag, get to, bother, get at, rile, nark, nettle, gravel, vex, chafe, devil

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