irritate

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled hirritated

US /ˈɪɹ.ɪˌteɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #19059

Meanings

1

verb
To make someone feel slightly angry or annoyed

It really irritates me when people are late.
2

verb
To make a part of the body sore, painful, or inflamed

The rough wool sweater irritated her skin.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make someone feel... annoy bother bug

2 verb · to make a part of the body... chafe

Word family

Forms irritates

Derived forms abirritatecounterirritateirritatableirritator

Related forms disturb exasperate irritant irritation irritativeirritatorypeeve

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

irritate the throat
to cause discomfort or inflammation in the throat

Verb + noun

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin irritātus, perfect passive participle of irritō (“to invalidate, render void, annul”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from irritus (“invalid”), the equivalent of in- + ratus (“valid, established, fixed”).

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# irritate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈɪɹ.ɪˌteɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 19059

## Meanings
1. To make someone feel slightly angry or annoyed
2. To make a part of the body sore, painful, or inflamed

## Examples
- It really irritates me when people are late.
- The rough wool sweater irritated her skin.

## Derived Forms
- abirritate
- counterirritate
- irritatable
- irritator

## Related Forms
- disturb
- exasperate
- irritant
- irritation
- irritative
- irritatory
- peeve

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin irritātus, perfect passive participle of irritō (“to invalidate, render void, annul”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from irritus (“invalid”), the equivalent of in- + ratus (“valid, established, fixed”).

## AI Etymology
Irritate is borrowed from Latin irritātus, perfect passive participle of irritō (“to invalidate, render void, annul”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from irritus (“invalid”), the equivalent of in- + ratus (“valid, established, fixed”). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern verbal form is built from the named base and affix.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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