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Irksome - 4 dictionary results

irk⋅some

   [urk-suhm]
–adjective
1. annoying; irritating; exasperating; tiresome: irksome restrictions.
2. Obsolete. causing weariness or disgust.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME; see irk, -some 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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irk·some     (ûrk'səm)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.   Causing annoyance, weariness, or vexation; tedious: irksome restrictions. See Synonyms at boring.
irk'some·ly adv., irk'some·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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irksome

adjective
so lacking in interest as to cause mental weariness; "a boring evening with uninteresting people"; "the deadening effect of some routine tasks"; "a dull play"; "his competent but dull performance"; "a ho-hum speaker who couldn't capture their attention"; "what an irksome task the writing of long letters is"- Edmund Burke; "tedious days on the train"; "the tiresome chirping of a cricket"- Mark Twain; "other people's dreams are dreadfully wearisome" [syn: boring] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Irksome

Irk"some\, a. 1. Wearisome; tedious; disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; as, irksome hours; irksome tasks.

For not to irksome toil, but to delight, He made us. --Milton.

2. Weary; vexed; uneasy. [Obs.]

Let us therefore learn not to be irksome when God layeth his cross upon us. --Latimer.

Syn: Wearisome; tedious; tiresome; vexatious; burdensome.

Usage: Irksome, Wearisome, Tedious. These epithets describe things which give pain or disgust. Irksome is applied to something which disgusts by its nature or quality; as, an irksome task. Wearisome denotes that which wearies or wears us out by severe labor; as, wearisome employment. Tedious is applied to something which tires us out by the length of time occupied in its performance; as, a tedious speech.

Wearisome nights are appointed to me. --Job vii. 3.

Pity only on fresh objects stays, But with the tedious sight of woes decays. --Dryden. -- Irk"some*ly, adv. -- Irk"some*ness, n.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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