irksome

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɝksəm/ UK /ˈɜːksəm/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
causing annoyance or irritation; tiresome

Filling out the same form twice was an irksome chore.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · causing annoyance or... annoying tiresome irritatingvexingtedious bothersome wearisome

Opposites

pleasant agreeable delightful

Word family

Derived forms irksomelyirksomeness

Related forms irk

Etymology

From Middle English irken 'to weary, tire' (of uncertain origin, possibly from Old Norse yrkja 'to work') plus the suffix -some.

irken Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# irksome

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ˈɝksəm
**IPA (UK):** ˈɜːksəm

## Meanings
1. causing annoyance or irritation; tiresome

## Examples
- Filling out the same form twice was an irksome chore.

## Synonyms
- annoying
- tiresome
- irritating
- vexing
- tedious
- bothersome
- wearisome

## Antonyms
- pleasant
- agreeable
- delightful

## Derived Forms
- irksomely
- irksomeness

## Related Forms
- irk

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: irken

## Etymology
From Middle English irken 'to weary, tire' (of uncertain origin, possibly from Old Norse yrkja 'to work') plus the suffix -some.

## AI Etymology
Irksome comes from Middle English irken 'to weary, tire' (of uncertain origin, possibly from Old Norse yrkja 'to work') plus the suffix -some. The historical trail runs through Middle English irken. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means causing annoyance or irritation; tiresome. Derived formations include irksomely, irksomeness; related forms include irk.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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irksome

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