IRRITABILITY

temper, biliousness, irritability, peevishness, pettishness, snappishness, surliness

(noun) a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger; “his temper was well known to all his employees”

excitability, irritability

(noun) excessive sensitivity of an organ or body part

irritability, crossness, fretfulness, fussiness, peevishness, petulance, choler

(noun) an irritable petulant feeling

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

irritability (countable and uncountable, plural irritabilities)

The state or quality of being irritable; quick excitability

(physiology) 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.

(medicine) A condition of morbid excitability of an organ or part of the body; undue susceptibility to the influence of stimuli.

Synonyms

• (state of being irritable): petulance, fretfulness

Source: Wiktionary


Ir`ri*ta*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. irritabilitas: cf. F. irritabilité.]

1. The state or quality of being irritable; quick excitability; petulance; fretfulness; as, irritability of temper.

2. (Physiol.)

Definition: 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 processes, 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.

3. (Med.)

Definition: A condition of morbid excitability of an organ or part of the body; undue susceptibility to the influence of stimuli. See Irritation, n., 3.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 May 2025

DESIRABLE

(adjective) worth having or seeking or achieving; “a desirable job”; “computer with many desirable features”; “a desirable outcome”


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Coffee Trivia

The word “coffee” entered the English language in 1582 via the Dutch “koffie,” borrowed from the Ottoman Turkish “kahve,” borrowed in turn from the Arabic “qahwah.” The Arabic word qahwah was traditionally held to refer to a type of wine.

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