irritation

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French irritation, from Latin irrītātiō, from irrītāre, present active infinitive of irrītō (“I excite”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɪɹɪˈteɪʃən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

irritation (countable and uncountable, plural irritations)

1. The act of irritating or annoying

   What irritation causes you to be so moody?

2. The state of being irritated
   • 2012 March-April, Anna Lena Phillips, “Sneaky Silk Moths”, in American Scientist‎^[1], volume 100, number 2, page 172:

     Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.

3. A things or person that annoys

   Synonym: pain in the neck

4. (physiology) a state of inflammation or painful reaction to allergy or cell-lining damage.
5. A condition of morbid excitability or oversensitiveness of an organ or part of the body; a state in which the application of ordinary stimuli produces pain or excessive or vitiated action.
   • 1975, Richard I. Feinbloom, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Child Health Encyclopedia: The Complete Guide for Parents:

     Hip pain is a common complaint in children and may indicate a very mild irritation in the hip joint or may be the symptom of a very severe abnormality

Derived terms

• abirritation
• counterirritation
• irritant
• irritational
• irritative
• photoirritation

 

Related terms

• irritable
• irritate

Translations

the act of irritating

• Azerbaijani: qıcıq, qıcıqlandırma
• Bulgarian: раздразнение (bg) n (razdraznenie)
• Catalan: irritació f
• Danish: irritation c
• Esperanto: agaco
• Finnish: ärsytys (fi)
• French: irritation (fr) f
• Georgian: გაღიზიანება (gaɣizianeba)
• German: Ärger (de) m, Irritation (de) f, Verärgerung f
• Greek: ερεθισμός (el) m (erethismós)

  Ancient: ἀγανάκτησις f (aganáktēsis)

• Japanese: 苛立ち (ja) (iradachi)
• Maori: māngeongeo
• Middle English: noyaunce
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: irritasjon m

  Nynorsk: irritasjon m

• Polish: irytacja (pl) f
• Romanian: iritare (ro) f
• Russian: раздраже́ние (ru) n (razdražénije)
• Spanish: irritación (es) f
• Turkish: iritasyon, irkilme (tr), öfke (tr)

the act of exciting, or the condition of being excited to action, by stimulation

• Azerbaijani: qıcıq
• Bulgarian: възбуждане (bg) n (vǎzbuždane), дразнение n (draznenie)
• Finnish: ärsytys (fi), ärsyttäminen (fi)
• German: Irritation (de) f
• Greek: ερεθισμός (el) m (erethismós)

  Ancient: ἀγανάκτησις f (aganáktēsis)

• Latin: molestia f
• Maori: kūrakuraku
• Russian: возбужде́ние (ru) n (vozbuždénije)
• Turkish: iritasyon

oversensitiveness of part of the body

• Bulgarian: чувствителност (bg) f (čuvstvitelnost)
• Danish: irritation c
• German: Irritation (de) f
• Greek: εκνευρισμός (el) m (eknevrismós)
• Maori: māngeongeo
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: irritasjon m

  Nynorsk: irritasjon m

• Romanian: iritație (ro) f
• Russian: раздраже́ние (ru) n (razdražénije)
• Turkish: iritasyon, irkilme (tr)

Further reading

irritation on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• “irritation”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “irritation”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

French

Etymology

From Latin irrītātiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.ʁi.ta.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔ̃
• Homophone: irritations

Noun

irritation f (plural irritations)

1. irritation (all senses)

Related terms

• irriter

Further reading

• “irritation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.