Synonym Chooser

How is the word irritate different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of irritate are exasperate, nettle, peeve, provoke, and rile. While all these words mean "to excite a feeling of anger or annoyance," irritate implies an often gradual arousing of angry feelings that may range from mere impatience to rage.

constant nagging that irritated me greatly

When would exasperate be a good substitute for irritate?

The meanings of exasperate and irritate largely overlap; however, exasperate suggests galling annoyance and the arousing of extreme impatience.

his exasperating habit of putting off needed decisions

When is nettle a more appropriate choice than irritate?

The words nettle and irritate can be used in similar contexts, but nettle suggests a sharp but passing annoyance or stinging.

your pompous attitude nettled several people

When might peeve be a better fit than irritate?

While the synonyms peeve and irritate are close in meaning, peeve suggests arousing fretful often petty or querulous irritation.

a toddler peeved at being refused a cookie

When could provoke be used to replace irritate?

The words provoke and irritate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, provoke implies an arousing of strong annoyance that may excite to action.

remarks made solely to provoke her

When can rile be used instead of irritate?

In some situations, the words rile and irritate are roughly equivalent. However, rile implies inducing an angry or resentful agitation.

the new work schedules riled the employees

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of irritate Per the Cleveland Clinic, acid reflux can irritate the vocal cords. Emily Blackwood, People.com, 16 Dec. 2024 Light stimuli might still feel irritating. Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 16 Dec. 2024 First, coffee is significantly more acidic than matcha, which can irritate some people's stomachs or cause heartburn. Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 26 Mar. 2025 She’s disillusioned with her boyfriend and irritated by her mother. Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 25 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for irritate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irritate
Verb
  • Waltz now has a bunch of top officials, and their teams, who are annoyed at him for drawing bad publicity.
    Marc Caputo, Axios, 25 Mar. 2025
  • However, standing in the middle of a road to capture the Eiffel Tower in the background is not only unsafe but can also annoy locals.
    Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Some people may have been scratching their heads when kids started screaming and crying after seeing a pig wearing a crown; With zombie pig men and skeleton archers riding spiders, why would this specific creature elicit such a guttural reaction?
    Issy van der Velde, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2025
  • The Cougars had turnovers prior to that possession, but the fact that no shot went up near the final buzzer had many scratching their heads as to what Houston was thinking.
    Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Chicago Bears - Will Campbell, OL, LSU Will Campbell has fallen a bit due to his shorter arm length, but that likely won't bother Ben Johnson.
    Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Because Congress never bothered to write a law to establish it.
    Jay Cost, The Washington Examiner, 28 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Set up your agent to scrape competitor data, log changes to a spreadsheet, and send you only the high-impact alerts.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • On Tuesday, the Wikimedia Foundation announced that relentless AI scraping is putting strain on Wikipedia's servers.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Aaron Boone said Bellinger’s back started bugging him during Thursday’s game against the Diamondbacks.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Ralph Macchio on the one thing that still bugs him about Karate Kid Part II My Cousin Vinny tells the story of three bombastic Italian-Americans caught up in an over-the-top legal drama.
    Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 24 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Privately, Republicans in the Legislature have chafed at the measure, said Tyler Powell, a Republican political consultant in Oklahoma.
    J. David Goodman, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
  • It's also given Zuckerberg a way to loudly hit back at a Biden administration that revived the lawsuit — and the confidence to scrap content moderation and workplace culture policies that appear to have privately chafed him for years.
    Dan Primack, Axios, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Sold to the public as increasing transparency, the legislation has been utilized to persecute Georgia’s opposition and arrest dissidents with impunity.
    Anastasiya Zavyalova, The Conversation, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Again, none of these Beautiful People ever thought of assisting Americans who were being persecuted by the Deep State these last few years before Jan. 20.
    Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 19 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Extended exposure to pollutants like ozone or fine particulate matter can lead to coughing, throat irritation and shortness of breath, and may aggravate conditions like asthma and bronchitis.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
  • Breathing danger: Health risks from ash Breathing volcanic ash can irritate the throat and lungs, trigger asthma attacks and aggravate chronic respiratory conditions such as COPD.
    David Kitchen, The Conversation, 15 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Irritate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irritate. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on irritate

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!