Define the word irritate"Irritate" gcide "The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48"
Irritate \Ir"ri*tate\, a.
Excited; heightened. [Obs.]
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"Irritate" gcide "The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48"
Irritate \Ir"ri*tate\, v. t. [See 1 st Irritant.]
To render null and void. [R.] --Abp. Bramhall.
[1913 Webster]
"Irritate" gcide "The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48"
Irritate \Ir"ri*tate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Irritated; p. pr. &
vb. n. Irritating.] [L. irritatus, p. p. of irritare. Of
doubtful origin.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To increase the action or violence of; to heighten
excitement in; to intensify; to stimulate.
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Cold maketh the spirits vigorous and irritateth
them. --Bacon.
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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.
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Dismiss the man, nor irritate the god:
Prevent the rage of him who reigns above. --Pope.
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3. (Physiol.) To produce irritation in; to stimulate; to
cause to contract. See Irritation, n., 2.
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4. (Med.) To make morbidly excitable, or oversensitive; to
fret; as, the skin is irritated by friction; to irritate a
wound by a coarse bandage.
Syn: To fret; inflame; excite; provoke; tease; vex;
exasperate; anger; incense; enrage.
Usage: 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.
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"irritate" wn "WordNet (r) 2.0"
irritate
v 1: cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor
irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really
bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the
door after she leaves" [syn: annoy, rag, get to, bother,
get at, rile, nark, nettle, gravel, vex, chafe,
devil]
2: excite to an abnormal condition, of chafe or inflame;
"Aspirin irritates my stomach" [ant: soothe]
3: excite to some characteristic action or condition, such as
motion, contraction, or nervous impulse, by the
application of a stimulus; "irritate the glands of a leaf"
"irritate" moby-thes "Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0"
146 Moby Thesaurus words for "irritate":
abrade, afflict, affront, agent provocateur, aggravate, agonize,
ail, alienate, amplify, anger, annoy, arouse, augment, bite,
bother, bristle, bug, build up, burn, burn up, chafe, come between,
convulse, crucify, cut, damage, deepen, deteriorate, dilapidate,
disaffect, distress, disunite, divide, embitter, endamage, enhance,
enlarge, enrage, estrange, exacerbate, exasperate, excruciate,
exercise, fan the flame, fester, fluster, fret, gall, get,
give pain, gnaw, grate, grate on, gravel, grind, gripe, grit,
harass, harm, harrow, harry, hassle, heat up, hector, heighten,
hot up, huff, hurt, impair, incense, increase, inflame,
inflict pain, injure, intensify, irk, jangle the nerves, jar on,
kill by inches, lacerate, light the fuse, magnify, make acute,
make trouble, make worse, martyr, martyrize, miff, nag, needle,
nettle, nip, offend, pain, peeve, pester, pick at, pick on, pierce,
pinch, pique, pit against, plague, prick, prolong the agony,
provoke, put back, put on edge, put out, put to torture, rack,
rankle, rasp, rile, roil, rub, ruffle, separate, set against,
set at odds, set at variance, set on, set on edge, set up, sharpen,
sic on, sour, sow dissension, stab, sting, stir the blood, stir up,
stir up trouble, torment, torture, trouble, try, tweak, twist, vex,
weaken, work up, worry, worsen, wound, wring
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