From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
irritate
v 1: cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor
irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really
bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the
door after she leaves" [syn: annoy, rag, get to,
bother, get at, rile, nark, nettle, gravel,
vex, chafe, devil]
2: excite to an abnormal condition, of chafe or inflame;
"Aspirin irritates my stomach" [ant: soothe]
3: excite to some characteristic action or condition, such as
motion, contraction, or nervous impulse, by the
application of a stimulus; "irritate the glands of a leaf"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Irritate \Ir"ri*tate\, a.
Excited; heightened. [Obs.]
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Irritate \Ir"ri*tate\, v. t. [See 1 st Irritant.]
To render null and void. [R.] --Abp. Bramhall.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Irritate \Ir"ri*tate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Irritated; p. pr. &
vb. n. Irritating.] [L. irritatus, p. p. of irritare. Of
doubtful origin.]
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1. To increase the action or violence of; to heighten
excitement in; to intensify; to stimulate.
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Cold maketh the spirits vigorous and irritateth
them. --Bacon.
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2. To excite anger or displeasure in; to provoke; to tease;
to exasperate; to annoy; to vex; as, the insolence of a
tyrant irritates his subjects.
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Dismiss the man, nor irritate the god:
Prevent the rage of him who reigns above. --Pope.
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3. (Physiol.) To produce irritation in; to stimulate; to
cause to contract. See Irritation, n., 2.
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4. (Med.) To make morbidly excitable, or oversensitive; to
fret; as, the skin is irritated by friction; to irritate a
wound by a coarse bandage.
Syn: To fret; inflame; excite; provoke; tease; vex;
exasperate; anger; incense; enrage.
Usage: To Irritate, Provoke, Exasperate. These words
express different stages of excited or angry feeling.
Irritate denotes an excitement of quick and slightly
angry feeling which is only momentary; as, irritated
by a hasty remark. To provoke implies the awakening of
some open expression of decided anger; as, a provoking
insult. Exasperate denotes a provoking of anger at
something unendurable. Whatever comes across our
feelings irritates; whatever excites anger provokes;
whatever raises anger to a high point exasperates.
"Susceptible and nervous people are most easily
irritated; proud people are quickly provoked; hot and
fiery people are soonest exasperated." --Crabb.
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