[syn: temper, biliousness, irritability, peevishness, pettishness, snappishness, surliness]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Irritability \Ir`ri*ta*bil"i*ty\, n. [L. irritabilitas: cf. F.
irritabilit['e].]
[1913 Webster]
1. The state or quality of being irritable; quick
excitability; petulance; fretfulness; as, irritability of
temper.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Physiol.) A natural susceptibility, characteristic of all
living organisms, tissues, and cells, to the influence of
certain stimuli, response being manifested in a variety of
ways, -- as that quality in plants by which they exhibit
motion under suitable stimulation; esp., the property
which living muscle possesses, of responding either to a
direct stimulus of its substance, or to the stimulating
influence of its nerve fibers, the response being
indicated by a change of form, or contraction;
contractility.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Med.) A condition of morbid excitability of an organ or
part of the body; undue susceptibility to the influence of
stimuli. See Irritation, n., 3.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
irritability
n 1: an irritable petulant feeling [syn: irritability,
crossness, fretfulness, fussiness, peevishness,
petulance, choler]
2: excessive sensitivity of an organ or body part [syn:
excitability, irritability]
3: a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger; "his temper was
well known to all his employees" [syn: temper,
biliousness, irritability, peevishness, pettishness,
snappishness, surliness]