irritating

adjective

ir·​ri·​tat·​ing ˈir-ə-ˌtā-tiŋ 

: causing displeasure, anger, or annoyance

an irritating noise/habit

I felt more and more angry. There was something very irritating and aggressive in Summerlee's demeanour.

—Arthur Conan Doyle

irritatingly

ˈir-ə-ˌtā-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

The computer was irritatingly slow.

Synonyms

• abrasive
• aggravating
• annoying
• bothersome
• carking
• chafing
• disturbing
• exasperating
• frustrating
• galling
• irksome
• maddening
• nettlesome
• nettling
• peeving
• pesky
• pestiferous
• pestilent
• pestilential
• pesty
• plaguey
• plaguy
• rankling
• rebarbative
• riling
• vexatious
• vexing

Examples of irritating in a Sentence

his particularly irritating habit of leaving his dirty clothes on the floor

this soap leaves a residue that might be a little irritating if you have sensitive skin

Recent Examples on the Web

Blakely’s performance is indicative of The Private Life’s problems — the attempt to pastiche and complexify the popular understanding of this literary relationship ends up re-creating its most irritating qualities. —Rory Doherty, Vulture, 24 Jan. 2025

Most irritating are the groan-worthy winks to the audience. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 25 Dec. 2024

There’s also the question of how long two massive egos such as Musk and Ramaswamy can share the spotlight, particularly considering Ramaswamy is the most irritating person in politics. —Nolan Finley, The Mercury News, 26 Nov. 2024

Of all the teams to surpass Texas Tech this century, TCU’s evolution would be the most painful, or at least irritating. —Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1707, in the meaning defined above