Synonyms for irritating
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Annoying
annoying, bothersome, irksome, pesky informal, vexatious, teasing, galling, vexing, provoking, pestilential, plaguy, pestiferous, nettlesome, troublesome
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Causing irritation, annoyance or pain.
- adj. 2
Stimulating or exciting a response.
Related words
- Word family
- irritatingly
Example sentences
- annoying When one is sick, visitors can be rather annoying.
- bothersome Why are misogynists such bothersome creatures?
- irksome Being treated as a minor is irksome.
- vexatious The lawsuit was dismissed as vexatious and meritless.
- grating A cacophony is a mixture of grating noises.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| irritating | rising | |
| annoying | rising | |
| bothersome | steady | |
| irksome | steady | |
| vexatious | falling | |
| grating | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- pesky2
- 6 letters
- vexing2, plaguy
- 7 letters
- painful2, teasing2, grating2, caustic2, galling2, irksome2
- 8 letters
- annoying3, poignant2
- 9 letters
- provoking3, vexatious3
- 10 letters
- bothersome3, nettlesome3, irritative
- 11 letters
- troublesome3, pestiferous
- 12 letters
- pestilential
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (pesky2 = 2 syllables).