Adjacent Words

Annoy definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ANNOY', v.t. [L. neceo, to hurt, that is, to strike; neco, to kill.
To incommode; to injure or disturb by continued or repeated acts; to tease, vex or molest; as, to annoy an army by impeding their march, or by a continued cannonade.
ANNOY', n. Injury or molestation from continued acts or inconvenience.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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, irritate, rile, nark, nettle, gravel, vex, chafe, devil]

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English anoien, from Anglo-French anuier, ennoier, from Late Latin inodiare to make loathsome, from Latin in + odium hatred — more at odium Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to disturb or irritate especially by repeated acts 2. to harass especially by quick brief attacks intransitive verb to cause annoyance • annoyer noun Synonyms: annoy, vex, irk, bother mean to upset a person's composure. annoy implies a wearing on the nerves by persistent petty unpleasantness <their constant complaining annoys us>. vex implies greater provocation and stronger disturbance and usually connotes anger but sometimes perplexity or anxiety <vexed by her son's failure to clean his room>. irk stresses difficulty in enduring and the resulting weariness or impatience of spirit <careless waste irks the boss>. bother suggests interference with comfort or peace of mind <don't bother me while I'm reading>. Synonym: see in addition worry.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 cause slight anger or mental distress to. 2 (in passive) be somewhat angry (am annoyed with you; was annoyed at my remarks). 3 molest; harass repeatedly. Derivatives: annoyance n. annoyer n. Etymology: ME f. OF anuier, anui, anoi, etc., ult. f. L in odio hateful

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Annoy An*noy", n. [OE. anoi, anui, OF. anoi, anui, enui, fr. L. in odio hatred (esse alicui in odio, Cic.). See Ennui, Odium, Noisome, Noy.] A feeling of discomfort or vexation caused by what one dislikes; also, whatever causes such a feeling; as, to work annoy. Worse than Tantalus' is her annoy. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Annoy An*noy" ([a^]n*noi"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Annoyed ([a^]n*noid"); p. pr. & vb. n. Annoying.] [OE. anoien, anuien, OF. anoier, anuier, F. ennuyer, fr. OF. anoi, anui, enui, annoyance, vexation, F. ennui. See Annoy, n.] To disturb or irritate, especially by continued or repeated acts; to tease; to ruffle in mind; to vex; as, I was annoyed by his remarks. Say, what can more our tortured souls annoy Than to behold, admire, and lose our joy? --Prior. 2. To molest, incommode, or harm; as, to annoy an army by impeding its march, or by a cannonade. Syn: To molest; vex; trouble; pester; embarrass; perplex; tease.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(annoys, annoying, annoyed) If someone or something annoys you, it makes you fairly angry and impatient. Try making a note of the things which annoy you... It annoyed me that I didn't have time to do more reading... It just annoyed me to hear him going on. = irritate VERB: V n, it V n that, it V n to-inf see also annoyed, annoying

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Molest, trouble, vex, wound, pain, plague, worry, irritate, fret, chafe, incommode, disturb, disquiet, pester, bother, tease, infest, embarrass, harass, harry, hector, badger.

Moby Thesaurus

abrade, agent provocateur, aggravate, agitate, amplify, arouse, augment, awake, awaken, badger, bait, be at, bedevil, beleaguer, beset, blow the coals, blow up, bother, bristle, brown off, bug, build up, bullyrag, burn up, call forth, call up, chafe, chivy, deepen, deteriorate, devil, discompose, distemper, distress, disturb, dog, embitter, enhance, enkindle, enlarge, enrage, exacerbate, exasperate, excite, exercise, fan, fan the fire, fan the flame, fash, feed the fire, fire, flame, foment, frenzy, fret, gall, get, get at, gnaw, gripe, harass, harry, hassle, heat, heat up, heckle, hector, heighten, hot up, hound, huff, impassion, incense, incite, increase, inflame, infuriate, intensify, irk, irritate, key up, kindle, lather up, light the fuse, light up, madden, magnify, make acute, make worse, miff, molest, move, nag, needle, nettle, nudzh, overexcite, peeve, persecute, perturb, pester, pick on, pique, plague, pluck the beard, pother, provoke, rankle, ride, rile, roil, rouse, rub, ruffle, set astir, set fire to, set on fire, set up, sharpen, sour, steam up, stir, stir the blood, stir the embers, stir the feelings, stir up, summon up, tease, torment, trouble, try the patience, turn on, tweak the nose, upset, vex, wake, wake up, waken, warm, warm the blood, whip up, work into, work up, worry, worsen