irritable

[ir-i-tuh-buh l] /ˈɪr ɪ tə bəl/

adjective

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

Physiology, Biology. displaying irritability.

Pathology. susceptible to physical irritation.

Medicine/Medical. abnormally sensitive to a stimulus.

Origin

1655-65; < Latin irrītābilis, equivalent to irrītā(re) to irritate + -bilis -ble

Related forms

irritableness, noun

irritably, adverb

nonirritable, adjective

nonirritableness, noun

nonirritably, adverb

unirritable, adjective

unirritably, adverb

Synonyms

1. snappish, petulant, resentful. 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.

Examples from the web for irritable

He was tight-lipped and irritable on the stump: so much so that several journalists covering his campaign mounted a brief boycott.
The process of getting a license may be long and irritable, but it teaches the skills needed to be safe.
If she stops, she can't sleep or eat and becomes extremely restless, anxious and irritable.
It does affect his behaviour as he cannot sleep and thus becomes irritable and unhappy.
He said it improved his focus but he discontinued using it because it made him irritable.
They walk more slowly up the stairs and are more irritable when you hurry them along-or hurry by them.
After some of the convulsive struggles of our irritable nature, he submitted himself, and repented in dust and ashes.
He is as irritable as a poet and as full of his own importance as a film star.
Sam called for the third time, his voice raised and irritable.
Many of them felt constantly fatigued and irritable and the children had reddened eyes.

British Dictionary definitions for irritable

irritable

/ˈɪrɪtəbəl/

adjective

quickly irritated; easily annoyed; peevish

(of all living organisms) capable of responding to such stimuli as heat, light, and touch

(pathol) abnormally sensitive

Derived Forms

irritability, noun
irritableness, noun
irritably, adverb

Word Origin and History for irritable

adj.

1660s, from French irritable and directly from Latin irritabilis "easily excited," from irritare (see irritate). Related: Irritably.

irritable in Medicine

irritable ir·ri·ta·ble (ĭr'ĭ-tə-bəl)
adj.

Capable of reacting to a stimulus.
Abnormally sensitive to a stimulus.