irritated

1 of 2

adjective

Synonyms of irritatednext
: subjected to irritation: such as
a
: roughened, reddened, or inflamed by an irritant
… their eyes constantly feel gritty and irritated, as if scratched by sand with every blink.Jane E. Brody
The cat has a small spot of irritated skin—brought on by excessive licking and scratching …Cathy Free
b
: having or showing strong feelings of anger, annoyance, or exasperation
… she knew that he was irritated because a conversation had not gone the way he'd overplanned it …Tamsyn Muir
I was irritated with Annabeth for being … so rude to an old lady who'd just fed us for free.Rick Riordan
… she stammered before responding in an irritated tone, "Why are you asking me this?"Joel A. Davis Brown

irritated

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of irritate

Examples of irritated in a Sentence

Adjective irritated viewers were bombarding the station with complaints about the game's delayed start
Recent Examples on the Web
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Adjective
And everything is drier, more irritated — and even more acne-prone. Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 1 Sep. 2026 Nice people may of course become irritated, disappointed, jealous, or defensive, since niceness does not require sainthood. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 Soto, looking irritated, reaches out and slaps him upside the head. Sylvia Varnham O’Regan, Vanity Fair, 25 Aug. 2026 Her skin tends to become more irritated during stressful periods, though there have been some unexpected bright spots along the way. Grace Gavilanes, PEOPLE, 24 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for irritated

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1595, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of irritated was in 1595

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Irritated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irritated. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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