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irritate

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Irritation
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ir⋅ri⋅tate

  [ir-i-teyt] verb, -tat⋅ed, -tat⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to excite to impatience or anger; annoy.
2. Physiology, Biology. to excite (a living system) to some characteristic action or function.
3. Pathology. to bring (a body part) to an abnormally excited or sensitive condition.
–verb (used without object)
4. to cause irritation or become irritated.
Use irritate in a Sentence
Origin:
1525–35; < L irrītātus, ptp. of irrītāre to arouse to anger, excite, aggravate, equiv. to irritā- v. stem + -tus ptp. suffix

Related forms:
ir⋅ri⋅ta⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
1. vex, chafe, fret, gall; nettle, ruffle, pique; incense, enrage, infuriate, inflame. Irritate, exasperate, provoke mean to annoy or stir to anger. To irritate is to excite to impatience or angry feeling, often of no great depth or duration: to irritate by refusing to explain an action. To exasperate is to irritate to a point where self-control is threatened or lost: to exasperate by continual delays and excuses. To provoke is to stir to a sudden, strong feeling of resentful anger as by unwarrantable acts or wanton annoyance: to tease and provoke an animal until it attacks.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Irritation
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ir·ri·tate   (ĭr'ĭ-tāt')   
v.   ir·ri·tat·ed, ir·ri·tat·ing, ir·ri·tates

v.   tr.

  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.

v.   intr.
To be a cause of impatience or anger.

[Latin irrītāre, irrītāt-.]
ir'ri·tat'ing·ly adv., ir'ri·ta'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

irritate 
1531, from L. irritatus, from pp. stem of irritare "excite, provoke." An earlier verb form was irrite (c.1450), from O.Fr. irriter.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ir·ri·tate
Pronunciation: 'ir-&-"tAt
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -tat·ed; -tat·ing
transitivesenses
1 : to provoke impatience, anger, or displeasure in
2 : to cause (an organ or tissue) to be irritable : produce irritation in irritate the skin>
3 : to produce excitation in (as a nerve) : cause (as a muscle) to contract irritate intransitive senses
: to induce irritation
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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