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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Irritate \Ir"ri*tate\, adjective Excited; heightened. [Obs.]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Irritate \Ir"ri*tate\, verb (used with an object) [See 1 st {Irritant}.] To render null and void. [R.] --Abp. Bramhall.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Irritate \Ir"ri*tate\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Irritated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Irritating}.] [L. irritatus, p. p. of irritare. Of doubtful origin.]
1. To increase the action or violence of; to heighten excitement in; to intensify; to stimulate.
Cold maketh the spirits vigorous and irritateth them. --Bacon.
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.
Dismiss the man, nor irritate the god: Prevent the rage of him who reigns above. --Pope.
3. (Physiol.) To produce irritation in; to stimulate; to cause to contract. See {Irritation}, noun, 2.
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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
irritate
verb
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 Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
146 Moby Thesaurus words for "irritate": abrade, afflict, affront, agent provocateur, aggravate, agonize, ail, alienate, amplify, anger, annoy, arouse, augment, bite, bother, bristle, bug, build up, burn, burn up, chafe, come between, convulse, crucify, cut, damage, deepen, deteriorate, dilapidate, disaffect, distress, disunite, divide, embitter, endamage, enhance, enlarge, enrage, estrange, exacerbate, exasperate, excruciate, exercise, fan the flame, fester, fluster, fret, gall, get, give pain, gnaw, grate, grate on, gravel, grind, gripe, grit, harass, harm, harrow, harry, hassle, heat up, hector, heighten, hot up, huff, hurt, impair, incense, increase, inflame, inflict pain, injure, intensify, irk, jangle the nerves, jar on, kill by inches, lacerate, light the fuse, magnify, make acute, make trouble, make worse, martyr, martyrize, miff, nag, needle, nettle, nip, offend, pain, peeve, pester, pick at, pick on, pierce, pinch, pique, pit against, plague, prick, prolong the agony, provoke, put back, put on edge, put out, put to torture, rack, rankle, rasp, rile, roil, rub, ruffle, separate, set against, set at odds, set at variance, set on, set on edge, set up, sharpen, sic on, sour, sow dissension, stab, sting, stir the blood, stir up, stir up trouble, torment, torture, trouble, try, tweak, twist, vex, weaken, work up, worry, worsen, wound, wring
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