irritates - Master This Word
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irritates Word Meanings
- bothered or annoyed
- made to feel uncomfortable
- provoked anger or displeasure
irritates Example Sentences
Example sentences are the start of understanding. Don't rush to memorize. First feel how the word works in a sentence.
irritates Phonetic & Pronunciation
UK
/ˈɪr.ɪ.teɪt/
US
/ˈɪr.ɪ.teɪt/
irritates Word Etymology
irritate = ir- (not) + ritat (to make steady, fixed) from Latin. Historical origin: Latin → Old French → English. Memory image: Imagine a person being poked repeatedly, making them feel annoyed and uncomfortable.
Note 1: These definitions and etymologies are not standard dictionary definitions, but extended explanations provided to help with memorization and understanding of the actual application of words. Through this background information, we strive to make words more vivid and easier to understand, and help you remember their meanings in real life.
Note 2: LexiTalk designs the learning flow around the linguistics principle of “Comprehensible Input.” When learners encounter material that is slightly above their level but still understandable from context, the brain naturally absorbs the language. That’s why we keep every word inside authentic contexts, using examples and associations to help you understand it and use it flexibly.
Read the FAQ explanation of Comprehensible InputReal Context
Irritate means to bother or annoy someone, or to cause them to feel uncomfortable or angry. It can describe small, repeated actions that annoy a person, such as tapping a pencil or asking the same question, as well as more general feelings of irritation in response to a difficult situation. The word is transitive, so you irritate someone or something irritates you, and the noun form irritation refers to the state of being irritated. In everyday use, you may say a noise irritates you or that a person irritates you with their constant interruptions.
Usage Reminders
- Use irritate with people or feelings, not with objects.
- Irritate is transitive: you irritate someone; be irritated describes a feeling.
- Irritating describes something that causes irritation; irritated describes a person who feels irritated.
- Common collocations: irritate someone, be irritated by something, irritation as a noun.
- Avoid confusing with aggravate (add to a problem) or annoy (milder or more general).
Common Misconceptions
- Irritate always means a serious or harmful action
- Only people can irritate others, not objects or sounds
- Irritate and irritate yourself are common phrases
- It always refers to anger, never to mild annoyance
- Irritate is the same as annoy in all contexts
Thinking Differences
English tends to separate irritate (a verb of causing annoyance) from be irritated (a feeling) and from adjectives like irritating; many learners mix up the subject causing irritation with the one who experiences it.
Learning Tips
- Practice with people and objects to see subtle differences
- Note the verb form irritate with a direct object
- Learn irritated vs irritating vs irritation
- Use be irritated by for ongoing annoyance
- Differentiate annoy and irritate by intensity
- Listen for collocations like irritate someone or be irritated by loud noise
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