irritable
- irritable
-
/ir"i teuh beuhl/, adj.
1. easily irritated or annoyed; readily excited to impatience or anger.
2. Physiol., Biol. displaying irritability.
3. Pathol. susceptible to physical irritation.
4. Med. abnormally sensitive to a stimulus.
[1655-65; < L irritabilis, equiv. to irrita(re) to IRRITATE + -bilis -BLE]
Syn. 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.
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Universalium.
2010.
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irritable — [ iritabl ] adj. • 1757; « irritant » 1520; lat. irritabilis 1 ♦ Biol. Susceptible de réagir à un stimulus. Toute matière vivante est irritable. ⇒ excitable. 2 ♦ (1829) Cour. Prompt à se mettre en colère, qu un rien irrite. ⇒ chatouilleux,… … Encyclopédie Universelle
irritable — irritable, fractious, peevish, snappish, waspish, petulant, pettish, huffy, fretful, querulous apply to persons or to their moods or dispositions in the sense of showing impatience or anger without due or sufficient cause. Irritable implies… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Irritable — Ir ri*ta*ble, a. [L. irritabilis: cf. F. irritable. See {Irritate}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Capable of being irritated. [1913 Webster] 2. Very susceptible of anger or passion; easily inflamed or exasperated; as, an irritable temper. [1913 Webster]… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
irritable — adjetivo 1. (ser / estar) Que se irrita o tiende a irritarse o enfadarse con facilidad: Tiene un carácter muy irritable. Estás muy irritable últimamente, ¿se puede saber qué te ocurre? … Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española
irritable — [ir′i tə bəl] adj. [L irritabilis < irritare, to IRRITATE] 1. easily annoyed or provoked; fretful 2. Med. excessively or pathologically sensitive to a stimulus 3. Physiol. able to respond to a stimulus irritability n. irritableness irritably… … English World dictionary
irritable — (adj.) 1660s, from Fr. irritable and directly from L. irritabilis easily excited, from irritare (see IRRITATE (Cf. irritate)). Related: Irritably … Etymology dictionary
irritable — index fractious, froward, petulant, querulous, sensitive (easily affected) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
irritable — [adj] bad tempered, crabby annoyed, bearish, brooding, cantankerous, carping, choleric, complaining, contentious, crabbed, cross, crotchety, disputatious, dissatisfied, dyspeptic, easily offended, exasperated, fiery, fractious, fretful, fretting … New thesaurus
irritable — ► ADJECTIVE 1) easily annoyed or angered. 2) Medicine abnormally sensitive. DERIVATIVES irritability noun irritableness noun irritably adverb … English terms dictionary
irritable — (i rri ta bl ) adj. 1° Qui s irrite facilement. Homme irritable. Un esprit irritable. 2° Qui est vivement affecté par les impressions reçues, tant au physique qu au moral. Tempérament irritable. Il a le genre nerveux très irritable.… … Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré
IRRITABLE — adj. des deux genres T. de Physiologie. Susceptible d irritation, de contraction. Les muscles sont irritables. Il se dit aussi en parlant De la disposition à éprouver très vivement les impressions qu on reçoit. Il est d un tempérament fort… … Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)
