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1. Causing irritation or annoyance
   "an irritating delay";
   - annoying, bothersome, galling, nettlesome, pesky [informal], pestering, pestiferous, plaguy, plaguey, teasing, vexatious, vexing, irksome, niggly, dratted [informal]
    
2. (used of physical stimuli) serving to stimulate or excite
   "an irritating agent";
   - irritative
    
3. Causing physical discomfort
   "bites of black flies are more than irritating; they can be very painful";
   - painful

1. Cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
   "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves";
   - annoy, rag, get to, bother, get at [informal], rile, nark [Brit, slang], nettle, gravel [US], vex, chafe, devil, tick off [informal], roil [N. Amer]
    
2. Excite to an abnormal condition,, chafe or inflame
   "Aspirin irritates my stomach"
    
3. (physiology) 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"

See also: disagreeable, stimulative, uncomfortable

Type of: aggravate, displease, exacerbate, exasperate, excite, stimulate, worsen

Antonym: soothe

Encyclopedia: Irritating