From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishirritateir‧ri‧tate /ˈɪrɪteɪt/ ●●○ verb [transitive] 1 ANNOYto make someone feel annoyed or impatient, especially by doing something many times or for a long period of time It really irritates me when he doesn’t help around the house.2 MIHURT/CAUSE PAINto make a part of your body painful and sore This cream may irritate sensitive skin.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
irritate• That this objective has not been achieved continues to irritate Dublin.• Jean Paul's attempts to apologize just irritated me even more.• Anyway, I'd been very busy the day before and Doreen had irritated me for other reasons.• It irritates me when people give me phoney information.• After a while, the loud ticking of the clock began to irritate me.• I don't want to listen to muzak in stores - it irritates me.• That silly smile of hers always irritated me.• The pollen irritated my eyes, which were red and streaming with tears.• Perfumes in soap can irritate skin.• The influx of refugees irritated the residents of Pusan.• Nineteen percent of women will still use a beauty product, even if it irritates their skin.It ... irritates• It irritates me that I can't think of enough rare foods I haven't had and have wanted to have.• It irritates me when people give me phoney information.irritate ... skin• The cleansing bar uses no animal fats or chemicals which can irritate the skin.• Don't pull strips straight up or you may irritate skin and break off hair.• It's fresh, pleasant to use, doesn't irritate skin and keeps me fresh all day.Origin irritate (1500-1600) Latin past participle of irritare “to cause strong feelings in, excite” 