irritating

/ˈirɪteɪɾɪŋ/

/ˈɪrɪteɪtɪŋ/

If something's irritating, it annoys you. To most people, tuneless whistling and fingernails on a chalkboard are both irritating sounds.

Irritating things bug you. A little kid kicking the back of your seat on an airplane, a driver who follows you too closely on the highway, an early morning work crew right outside your bedroom window — all of these things can be irritating. A more physical way for something to be irritating is if it causes irritation — like a rash or soreness or pain. Your new watch may be irritating to your skin, leaving a red mark on your wrist.

Definitions of irritating

1. adjective

   causing irritation or annoyance
   “an irritating delay”

   synonyms: annoying, bothersome, galling, grating, nettlesome, pesky, pestering, pestiferous, plaguey, plaguy, teasing, vexatious, vexing

   disagreeable

   not to your liking
2. adjective

   (used of physical stimuli) serving to stimulate or excite
   synonyms: irritative

   stimulative

   capable of arousing or accelerating physiological or psychological activity or response by a chemical agent
3. adjective

   causing physical discomfort
   “bites of black flies are more than irritating”

   synonyms: painful

   uncomfortable

   providing or experiencing physical discomfort