irritable

UK: /ˈɪrɪtəb^əl/ US: /ˈɪrɪtəbəl/ ,(ir′i tə bəl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ir•ri•ta•ble /ˈɪrɪtəbəl/   adj. 

1. easily irritated or annoyed; readily becoming impatient or angry:
   was irritable with fatigue and worry.

ir•ri•ta•bil•i•ty /ˌɪrɪtəˈbɪlɪti/  n. [uncountable]
ir•ri•ta•bly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ir•ri•ta•ble  (ir′i tə bəl), adj. 

1. easily irritated or annoyed;
   readily excited to impatience or anger.
2. Physiology displaying irritability.
3. Pathology susceptible to physical irritation.
4. Medicine abnormally sensitive to a stimulus.

• Latin irrītābilis, equivalent. to irrītā(re) to irritate + -bilis -ble
• 1655–65

ir′ri•ta•ble•ness, n. 
ir′ri•ta•bly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. snappish, petulant, resentful.
  Irritable, testy, touchy, irascible are adjectives meaning easily upset, offended, or angered.
  Irritable means easily annoyed or bothered, and it implies cross and snappish behavior:
  an irritable clerk, rude and hostile; Impatient and irritable, he was constantly complaining.
  Testy describes the same kind of behavior or response, particularly to minor annoyances:
  always on edge, testy and sharp in response; testy and petulant, resenting any interruption.
  Touchy emphasizes oversensitivity and readiness to take offense, even when none is intended:
  especially touchy about any reference to obesity.
  Irascible means habitually angry or easily aroused to anger:
  an irascible tyrant, roaring at employees for the slightest error.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

irritable / ˈɪrɪtəb^əl/ adjective

1. quickly irritated; easily annoyed; peevish
2. (of all living organisms) capable of responding to such stimuli as heat, light, and touch
3. abnormally sensitive

ˌirritaˈbility noun

ˈirritableness noun

ˈirritably adverb