Hypertext Webster Gateway: "irritation"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Irritation \Ir`ri*ta"tion\, n. [L. irritatio: cf. F.
irritation.]
1. The act of irritating, or exciting, or the state of being
irritated; excitement; stimulation, usually of an undue
and uncomfortable kind; especially, excitement of anger or
passion; provocation; annoyance; anger.
The whole body of the arts and sciences composes one
vast machinery for the irritation and development of
the human intellect. --De Quincey.
2. (Physiol.) The act of exciting, or the condition of being
excited to action, by stimulation; -- as, the condition of
an organ of sense, when its nerve is affected by some
external body; esp., the act of exciting muscle fibers to
contraction, by artificial stimulation; as, the irritation
of a motor nerve by electricity; also, the condition of a
muscle and nerve, under such stimulation.
3. (Med.) A condition of morbid excitability or
oversensitiveness of an organ or part of the body; a state
in which the application of ordinary stimuli produces pain
or excessive or vitiated action.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
irritation
n 1: the psychological state of being irritated or annoyed [syn:
{annoyance}, {vexation}]
2: a sudden outburst of anger; "his temper sparked like damp
firewood" [syn: {pique}, {temper}]
3: an uncomfortable feeling in some part of the body [syn: {discomfort},
{soreness}]
4: unfriendly behavior that aggravates or irritates someone
[syn: {aggravation}, {provocation}]
5: the act of troubling or annoying someone [syn: {annoyance},
{annoying}, {vexation}]
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