IRRITABLE


Meaning of IRRITABLE in English

ir ‧ ri ‧ ta ‧ ble /ˈɪrətəb ə l, ˈɪrɪtəb ə l/ BrE AmE adjective

getting annoyed quickly or easily SYN crabby , bad-tempered :

Jo was tired, irritable, and depressed.

—irritably adverb

—irritability /ˌɪrətəˈbɪləti, ˌɪrɪtəˈbɪləti/ noun [uncountable]

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THESAURUS

▪ bad-tempered becoming easily annoyed and talking in an angry unfriendly way to people:

Her husband was a disagreeable, bad-tempered man.

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I was wondering why she had been so bad-tempered recently.

▪ moody often becoming annoyed or unhappy, especially when there seems to be no good reason:

a moody teenager

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Myra can be a bit moody sometimes.

▪ irritable easily annoyed about small things, especially because you are tired, upset, or worried:

I hadn’t had much sleep and was feeling tired and irritable.

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Since Steve quit smoking, he’s been really irritable.

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You’re turning into an irritable old man.

▪ grumpy/grouchy easily annoyed and often complaining about things - used especially when talking about people you know well. These words sound much gentler and less critical than bad-tempered :

There’s no need to be so grumpy!

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He woke up in a grouchy mood.

▪ be in a bad mood to be feeling annoyed or unhappy, so that you do not speak in a normal friendly way to people - used especially when this only lasts for a fairly short period of time and is not part of someone’s usual character:

Leave him alone – he’s in a bad mood today.

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By the time I got home at 9 o'clock, I was in a really bad mood.

▪ have/have got a short fuse informal to be likely to become angry very suddenly, especially in an unreasonable way:

Be careful what you say to the Colonel - he’s got a very short fuse.

▪ cantankerous written bad-tempered and complaining or quarrelling a lot – used especially about old people:

The hotel owner was a cantankerous old man.

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In later years, she became quite cantankerous.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.