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View synonyms for irritable

irritable

[ ir-i-tuh-buhl ]

adjective

  1. easily irritated or annoyed; readily excited to impatience or anger.

    Synonyms: resentful, petulant, snappish

  2. Physiology, Biology. displaying irritability.
  3. Pathology. susceptible to physical irritation.
  4. Medicine/Medical. abnormally sensitive to a stimulus.


irritable

/ ˈɪrɪtəbəl /

adjective

  1. quickly irritated; easily annoyed; peevish
  2. (of all living organisms) capable of responding to such stimuli as heat, light, and touch
  3. pathol abnormally sensitive
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈirritably, adverb
  • ˌirritaˈbility, noun
  • ˈirritableness, noun
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Other Words From

  • irri·ta·ble·ness noun
  • irri·ta·bly adverb
  • non·irri·ta·ble adjective
  • non·irri·ta·ble·ness noun
  • non·irri·ta·bly adverb
  • un·irri·ta·ble adjective
  • un·irri·ta·bly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of irritable1

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin irrītābilis, equivalent to irrītā(re) “to irritate ” + -bilis -ble
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Synonym Study

Irritable, testy, touchy, irascible are adjectives meaning easily upset, offended, or angered. Irritable means easily annoyed or bothered, and it implies cross and snappish behavior: an irritable clerk, rude and hostile; Impatient and irritable, he was constantly complaining. Testy describes the same kind of behavior or response, particularly to minor annoyances: always on edge, testy and sharp in response; testy and petulant, resenting any interruption. Touchy emphasizes oversensitivity and readiness to take offense, even when none is intended: especially touchy about any reference to obesity. Irascible means habitually angry or easily aroused to anger: an irascible tyrant, roaring at employees for the slightest error.
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Example Sentences

Chronic stress increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, irritable bowel disease, obesity, depression, asthma, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders and obesity.

Normally even-keeled, he was irritable and short-tempered, including with her son — and Huddleston’s soon-to-be stepson — Allan Osborn.

As the day approached, my daughter grew more and more irritable.

Take, for example, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that affects some 15 percent of Americans.

But new research shows it is indeed real, and may be the cause of asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, and more.

FODMAP foods can worsen irritable bowel symptoms for many of the 15 percent of Americans that suffer from the condition.

She was irritable and ornery almost all of the time, and she seemed to be trying to distance herself from the others.

And he came across as irritable and snarky when asked to provide a succinct answer on how to address health care.

He became irritable, distressed, and anxious—struggled hard to get the needful sum together, struggled and strove; but failed.

As, during the whole pepper-harvest, they feed wholly on this stimulant, they become exceedingly irritable.

There was also a moral reaction, and the boy became capricious, irritable, and unlike his former self.

There are few greater annoyances of life than an irritable woman, rendered doubly morose by the infirmities of years.

The Colonel, who was suffering from an attack of rheumatic gout, was more irritable than usual.

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irritabilityirritable bowel syndrome