irk

1 of 2

verb

irked; irking; irks

transitive verb

: to make weary, irritated, or bored

irk

2 of 2

noun

1
: the fact of being annoying
2
: a source of annoyance
Choose the Right Synonym for irk

annoy, vex, irk, bother mean to upset a person's composure.

annoy implies a wearing on the nerves by persistent petty unpleasantness.

their constant complaining annoys us

vex implies greater provocation and stronger disturbance and usually connotes anger but sometimes perplexity or anxiety.

vexed by her son's failure to clean his room

irk stresses difficulty in enduring and the resulting weariness or impatience of spirit.

careless waste irks the boss

bother suggests interference with comfort or peace of mind.

don't bother me while I'm reading

Examples of irk in a Sentence

Verb Drivers were irked by the higher gasoline prices. It irks me to have to clean up after you. Noun one of the prof's major irks is a cell phone that rings during a lecture
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
That allegedly irked the Spartans, who asked for the same amount of time off, but were turned down. Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2024 Don’t overreact or agree to something that irks you. Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2024 The state Republican party also established rules against any meaningful involvement (such as the distribution of literature) by super PACs at the caucus, which irked some campaigns, such as DeSantis', which leaned heavily on organizing efforts from outside groups. Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2024 Every little thing may irk you while Mars and Mercury clash with Chiron. USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2024 One of the things that irks me, people talk about the war in Ukraine. Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2024 He was picked first alternate for the game on the original ballot, behind Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Puka Nacua and Mike Evans, and said he was irked by not being selected to the team. Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press, 30 Jan. 2024 Altman, who was fired as OpenAI chief executive officer in November and quickly restated, irked some board members by raising funds for other endeavors. Mark Gurman, Fortune, 27 Dec. 2023 Kourtney Kardashian Barker's daughter found herself a little irked by her mom's pregnant belly being on display. Angela Andaloro, Peoplemag, 30 Nov. 2023
Noun
The violence gets worse from there, and somehow all that is supposed to fit into a show about a Washington socialite whose biggest irk in the premiere is her rivalry with the first lady. Washington Post, 22 Apr. 2022 The Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson varieties seem to sit somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of immunological irk. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2021 From that slight irk, a fuse is now irrevocably lit. Hank Stuever, Washington Post, 13 June 2019 But under the direction of Susannah Martin, those devices more irk than stoke fear. Lily Janiak, SFChronicle.com, 25 June 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'irk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

circa 1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of irk was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near irk

Cite this Entry

“Irk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irk. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

irk

verb
ˈərk
: to make weary, irritated, or bored : annoy

More from Merriam-Webster on irk

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