irritate. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

irritate

SYLLABICATION:	ir·ri·tate
PRONUNCIATION:	r-tt
VERB:	Inflected forms: ir·ri·tat·ed, ir·ri·tat·ing, ir·ri·tates
TRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To rouse to impatience or anger; annoy: a loud bossy voice that irritates listeners. See synonyms at annoy. 2. To chafe or inflame. 3. Physiology To cause physiological activity or response in (an organ or tissue), as by application of a stimulus.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	To be a cause of impatience or anger.
ETYMOLOGY:	Latin irrtre, irrtt-.
OTHER FORMS:	irri·tating·ly —ADVERB irri·tator —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.