nettle

/ˈnɛdl/

/ˈnɛtəl/

Other forms: nettled; nettles; nettling

If you know what a nettle is—it's a plant with stinging hairs—then you'll have no trouble remembering the verb nettle: it means to annoy, bother, irritate, or bedevil.

A kid sister, a mosquito, an angry boyfriend, or a hot, muggy day: all of these are examples of things that might nettle a person. When you nettle someone, you act like a nettle; you annoy, bother, and generally tick off a person. The person who nettles you can be called nettlesome, which means that they're acting like a nettle. I find that the very sound of his voice nettles me. The sound alone makes me wish he would just shut up.

Definitions of nettle

1. noun

   any of numerous plants having stinging hairs that cause skin irritation on contact (especially of the genus Urtica or family Urticaceae)
   types:

   Urtica dioica, stinging nettle

   perennial Eurasian nettle established in North America having broad coarsely toothed leaves with copious stinging hairs

   Roman nettle, Urtica pipulifera

   annual European nettle with stinging foliage and small clusters of green flowers

   Laportea canadensis, wood nettle

   American perennial herb found in rich woods and provided with stinging hairs; provides fibers used for textiles

   Pilea pumilla, clearweed, dead nettle, richweed

   a plants of the genus Pilea having drooping green flower clusters and smooth translucent stems and leaves

   Pilea microphylla, artillery plant

   tropical American stingless nettle that discharges its pollen explosively

   Pilea involucrata, friendship plant, panamica, panamiga

   low stingless nettle of Central and South America having velvety brownish-green toothed leaves and clusters of small green flowers

   type of:

   weed

   any plant that crowds out cultivated plants
2. verb

   sting with or as with nettles and cause a stinging pain or sensation
   synonyms: urticate

   urticate

   whip with or as with nettles

   type of:

   bite, burn, sear, sting

   cause a sharp or stinging pain or discomfort
3. verb

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