How to Use irritable in a Sentence

irritable

adjective
  • I came home from work feeling tired and irritable.
  • My father is always irritable after a nap.
  • If you are rushed or irritable, say so.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Emery was irritable at full time.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Kaplan has been known over the years to become irritable with lawyers on all sides.
    — Larry Neumeister, Fortune, 27 Dec. 2022
  • Viva says menopause left her tired and irritable.
    — Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Stressed kids can present as irritable, avoidant, even withdrawn.
    — John Duffy, CNN, 4 May 2021
  • When the caffeine wears off, children may have a headache and feel irritable or tired.
    — Dr. Mark Corkins, Boston Herald, 14 Sep. 2025
  • First, your baby may be more fussy or irritable while nursing.
    — Donna Murray, Rn, Parents, 16 July 2024
  • As the day approached, my daughter grew more and more irritable.
    — Washington Post, 24 June 2021
  • But a new wrench is thrown into the works in the form of an irritable downstairs neighbor.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 27 June 2025
  • The show's star is irritable, and clearly something is amiss.
    — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, 5 June 2021
  • The downside is that lanyards could be irritable in the summer heat.
    — Susan Brickell, Health.com, 7 Aug. 2020
  • Some can become sad, but some can also turn irritable or withdrawn.
    — Dr. Imani J. Walker, The Root, 15 Dec. 2017
  • Other symptoms include an irritable or angry mood that lasts most of the day on most days.
    — Karen Pallarito, Health, 2 June 2024
  • This can cause your baby to become drowsy, excitable, or even irritable.
    — Sherri Gordon, Parents, 9 July 2024
  • So at a time when period-havers are highly irritable, what are some ways to extend grace?
    — Shacamree Gowdy, Chron, 8 Feb. 2021
  • They can be withdrawn or irritable.
    — Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 14 June 2026
  • Overtime, this pent up fatigue can lead to an irritable outburst.
    — Naomi Weinshenker, Discover Magazine, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Screw that shouty guy in the street, and screw that irritable homeowner and enemy of dogs.
    — James Parker, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Some people act out and get kind of angry or frustrated or irritable.
    — Erica Pearson, Star Tribune, 17 June 2021
  • Lack of sleep can lead to a range of problems, including feeling more irritable.
    — Michelle Mastro, The Spruce, 7 Feb. 2026
  • When an owner is distracted or irritable from work stress, the dog notices.
    — Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2025
  • Lawrence was irritable and intense, as is the painter L in Cusk’s novel.
    — Dwight Garner, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2021
  • There was the time when Liza, one of their four cats, had to stay at the vet for six months to be treated for an irritable bowel.
    — Christy Piña, Woman's Day, 2 Dec. 2020
  • Other days, survivors newly on edge and irritable turned on each other when someone was too loud on the phone.
    — Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2022
  • Within a couple of weeks of wearing the buds, my ears stopped having the irritable side effects.
    — Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 3 Oct. 2024
  • Many of her students come to class hungry, and at times, unhappy and irritable because of it.
    — Caroline Alkire, Good Housekeeping, 23 Mar. 2017
  • Now that each theater can set its own rules, things feel arbitrary and patrons are anxious and irritable.
    — Karen Kaplanscience and Medicine Editor, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2022
  • Ultimately the squeaky clean skin was causing more damage, so my skin was dry, flaky and irritable.
    — Rachel Nussbaum, Glamour, 9 Oct. 2018

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

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