irritable Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite easily irritated or annoyed
    peckish; nettlesome; testy; tetchy; petulant; cranky; techy; fractious; scratchy; pettish; peevish.
    • an incorrigibly fractious young man
    • not the least nettlesome of his countrymen
  2. adjective satellite abnormally sensitive to a stimulus
  3. adjective satellite capable of responding to stimuli
    excitable.

WordNet

Ir"ri*ta*ble adjective
Etymology
L. irritabilis: cf. F. irritable. See Irritate.
Definitions
  1. Capable of being irriated.
  2. Very susceptible of anger or passion; easily inflamed or exasperated; as, an irritable temper.
    Vicious, old, and irritable. Tennyson.
  3. (Physiol.) Endowed with irritability; susceptible of irritation; capable of being excited to action by the application of certain stimuli.
  4. (Med.) Susceptible of irritation; unduly sensitive to irritants or stimuli. See Irritation, n., 3. Syn. -- Excitable; irascible; touchy; fretful; peevish.

Webster 1913