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Webster 1913 Edition

Irritate

Ir′ri-tate

,
Verb.
T.
[See 1 st
Irritant
.]
To render null and void.
[R.]
Abp. Bramhall.

Ir′ri-tate

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Irritated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Irritating
.]
[L.
irritatus
, p. p. of
irritare
. Of doubtful origin.]
1.
To increase the action or violence of; to heighten excitement in; to intensify; to stimulate.
Cold maketh the spirits vigorous and
irritateth
them.
Bacon.
2.
To excite anger or displeasure in; to provoke; to tease; to exasperate; to annoy; to vex;
as, the insolence of a tyrant
irritates
his subjects
.
Dismiss the man, nor
irritate
the god:
Prevent the rage of him who reigns above.
Pope.
3.
(Physiol.)
To produce irritation in; to stimulate; to cause to contract. See
Irritation
,
Noun.
, 2.
Syn. – To fret; inflame; excite; provoke; tease; vex; exasperate; anger; incense; enrage.
– To
Irritate
,
Provoke
,
Exasperate
. These words express different stages of excited or angry feeling. Irritate denotes an excitement of quick and slightly angry feeling which is only momentary;
as,
irritated
by a hasty remark
. To provoke implies the awakening of some open expression of decided anger;
as, a
provoking
insult
. Exasperate denotes a provoking of anger at something unendurable. Whatever comes across our feelings irritates; whatever excites anger provokes; whatever raises anger to a high point exasperates. “Susceptible and nervous people are most easily irritated; proud people are quickly provoked; hot and fiery people are soonest exasperated.”
Crabb.

Ir′ri-tate

,
Adj.
Excited; heightened.
[Obs.]

Webster 1828 Edition

Irritate

IR'RITATE

,
Verb.
T.
[L. irrito; in and ira, wrath.]
1.
To excite heat and redness in the skin or flesh of living animal bodies, as by friction; to inflame; to fret; as, to irritate a wounded part by a coarse bandage.
2.
To excite anger; to provoke; to tease; to exasperate. Never irritate a child for trifling faults. The insolence of a tyrant irritates his subjects.
3.
To increase action or violence; to highten excitement in.
Air, if very cold, irritateth the flame.
4.
To cause fibrous contractions in an extreme part of the sensorium, as by the appulse of an external body.

Definition 2024

irritate

irritate

English

Verb

irritate ‎(third-person singular simple present irritates, present participle irritating, simple past and past participle irritated)

  1. (transitive) To provoke impatience, anger, or displeasure.
    • 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter I:
      Thanks to that penny he had just spent so recklessly [on a newspaper] he would pass a happy hour, taken, for once, out of his anxious, despondent, miserable self. It irritated him shrewdly to know that these moments of respite from carking care would not be shared with his poor wife, with careworn, troubled Ellen.
  2. (transitive) To introduce irritability or irritation in.
  3. (intransitive) To cause or induce displeasure or irritation.
  4. (transitive) To induce pain in (all or part of a body or organism).
  5. (obsolete) To render null and void.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Archbishop Bramhall to this entry?)

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Italian

Adjective

irritate f pl

  1. feminine plural of irritato

Verb

irritate

  1. second-person plural present of irritare
  2. second-person plural imperative of irritare
  3. feminine plural past participle of irritare

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

irrītāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of irrītō

References

Etymology

From Latin irritatus, past participle of irritare ‎(“to excite, irritate, incite, stimulate”)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɪɹɪteɪt/

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