[syn: annoyance, annoying, irritation, vexation]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Irritation \Ir`ri*ta"tion\, n. [L. irritatio: cf. F.
irritation.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
The whole body of the arts and sciences composes one
vast machinery for the irritation and development of
the human intellect. --De Quincey.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
irritation
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]