Adjacent Words

Irritation definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

IRRITA'TION, n. The operation of exciting heat, action, and redness in the skin or flesh of living animals, by friction or other means.
1. The excitement of action in the animal system by the application of food, medicines and the like.
2. Excitement of anger or passion; provocation; exasperation; anger.
3. In physiology, an exertion or change of some extreme part of the sensorium residing in the muscles or organs of sense, in consequence of the appulses of external bodies.
Irritation is the effect of a stimulus applied to an irritable part.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the psychological state of being irritated or annoyed [syn: irritation, annoyance, vexation, botheration]
2: a sudden outburst of anger; "his temper sparked like damp firewood" [syn: pique, temper, irritation]
3: (pathology) abnormal sensitivity to stimulation; "any food produced irritation of the stomach"
4: the neural or electrical arousal of an organ or muscle or gland [syn: excitation, innervation, irritation]
5: an uncomfortable feeling of mental painfulness or distress [syn: discomfort, soreness, irritation]
6: unfriendly behavior that causes anger or resentment [syn: aggravation, irritation, provocation]
7: the act of troubling or annoying someone [syn: annoyance, annoying, irritation, vexation]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 15th century 1. a. the act of irritating b. something that irritates c. the state of being irritated 2. a condition of irritability, soreness, roughness, or inflammation of a bodily part

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Irritation Ir`ri*ta"tion, n. [L. irritatio: cf. F. irritation.] 1. The act of irritating, or exciting, or the state of being irritated; excitement; stimulation, usually of an undue and uncomfortable kind; especially, excitement of anger or passion; provocation; annoyance; anger. The whole body of the arts and sciences composes one vast machinery for the irritation and development of the human intellect. --De Quincey. 2. (Physiol.) The act of exciting, or the condition of being excited to action, by stimulation; -- as, the condition of an organ of sense, when its nerve is affected by some external body; esp., the act of exciting muscle fibers to contraction, by artificial stimulation; as, the irritation of a motor nerve by electricity; also, the condition of a muscle and nerve, under such stimulation. 3. (Med.) 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(irritations) 1. Irritation is a feeling of annoyance, especially when something is happening that you cannot easily stop or control. He tried not to let his irritation show as he blinked in the glare of the television lights. = annoyance 2. An irritation is something that keeps annoying you. Don't allow a minor irritation in the workplace to mar your ambitions... = annoyance N-COUNT 3. Irritation in a part of your body is a feeling of slight pain and discomfort there. These oils may cause irritation to sensitive skins... N-VAR

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Irritating. 2. Exasperation, provocation, wrath, ire, anger, passion, excitement, indignation, resentment. 3. (Med.) Inflammation (by friction), excitation, stimulation.

Moby Thesaurus

adverse circumstances, adversity, affliction, aggravation, agitation, algesia, amplification, animation, annoyance, arousal, arousing, augmentation, blight, bummer, care, chafe, contentiousness, cross, curse, deepening, deliberate aggravation, deterioration, difficulties, difficulty, disapprobation, disapproval, discontent, displeasure, dissatisfaction, downer, electrification, embittering, embitterment, enhancement, enlargement, exacerbation, exasperation, excitation, excitement, exhilaration, festering, firing, fomentation, fret, gall, galvanization, hard knocks, hard life, hard lot, hardcase, hardship, heightening, incitation, incitement, increase, inflammation, infuriation, instigation, intensification, irritant, lathering up, magnification, pep rally, pep talk, perturbation, plight, predicament, pressure, provocation, rabble-rousing, rankling, resentfulness, resentment, rigor, sea of troubles, sensitiveness, sharpening, sore, sore spot, soreness, souring, steaming up, stimulation, stimulus, stirring, stirring up, stirring-up, stress, stress of life, tenderness, trial, tribulation, trouble, troubles, vale of tears, vexation, vicissitude, whipping up, working up, worsening