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

Other Word Forms

• irritably adverb
• irritability noun
• irritableness noun
• nonirritable adjective
• nonirritableness noun
• nonirritably adverb
• unirritable adjective
• unirritably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of irritable¹

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

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.

Example Sentences

"She had a bloated abdomen, was irritable and unable to eat anything because the foetuses were squashing her stomach," Dr Anand said.

From BBC

Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others and can feel nauseous, anxious and irritable, and get headaches even at lower doses.

From BBC

In an irritable exchange he urged the Covid Inquiry to focus on the substance of what the government was doing at the time.

From BBC

He said he also experienced side-effects like headaches, heart flutters, sore gums, a decrease in his appetite and feeling irritable.

From BBC

According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of Graves’ disease can include “feeling nervous or irritable,” slight tremors of the hands or fingers, weight loss, menstrual changes and heart palpitations.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• annoyed 
• contentious 
• exasperated 
• fractious 
• petulant 
• prickly 
• resentful 
• surly 
• testy