annoy

/əˈnɔɪ/

/əˈnɔɪ/

Other forms: annoyed; annoying; annoys

The verb annoy means to bother or irritate. Your habit of constantly talking about your cats might annoy your friends more than you realize.

When you annoy someone, you really rub them the wrong way. Often, the things that annoy people the most are those that are repeated again and again, like your habit of snorting every time you laugh or the screeching sound that your dishwasher makes day after day. Although the word annoy comes from the Latin phrase esse in odio, "it is hateful to me," its meaning now is less "hateful" and more "bothersome."

Definitions of annoy

1. verb

   cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
   synonyms: bother, chafe, devil, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, nark, nettle, rag, rile, vex

   chafe

   feel extreme irritation or anger

   types:

   get, get under one's skin

   irritate

   eat into, fester, fret, gnaw, grate, rankle

   gnaw into; make resentful or angry

   peeve

   cause to be annoyed, irritated, or resentful

   ruffle

   trouble or vex

   fret

   cause annoyance in

   beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague, provoke

   annoy continually or chronically

   antagonise, antagonize

   provoke the hostility of

   goad, needle

   goad or provoke, as by constant criticism

   bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, rag, torment

   treat cruelly

   haze

   harass by imposing humiliating or painful tasks, as in military institutions

   type of:

   displease

   give displeasure to