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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

irksome en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • ûrk'səm rhotic
  • (Australia) audio
  • /ˈɜːksəm/ non-rhotic
  • /ˈɜɹksəm/ rhotic

Etymology

From Middle English irkesome, irksum, equivalent to irk + -some, or perhaps continuing (in altered form) from Old English weorcsum (“painful, hurtful”).

Meanings

  1. Marked by irritation or annoyance; disagreeable; troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition
    • The young Spaniard had been in many situations of greater difficulty, but in none more irksome. 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 235:
    • Like the irksome climate-change satire Don’t Look Up, directed by Succession executive producer Adam McKay, the exaggerated hijinks of Mountainhead reveal a deep self-assurance of its politics that border on smug. 2025 June 2, Adrian Horton, “Tech-bro satire Mountainhead is an insufferable disappointment”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
    • He has this irksome habit of racing up to red lights, so he has to brake heavily.
    • But winter can also be judged by the prominence of another scourge, one that is especially irksome in a city that places a premium on being well-groomed and immaculately coiffed: hat hair. 2003 February 17, Elissa Gootman, “A Chill Most Bitter: Learning to Accept Hat Hair”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 May 2015:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
most irksome Degree=Sup lexicographic
more irksome Degree=Cmp lexicographic

Antonyms

pleasant · enjoyable · agreeable

Deriveds

irksomeness · unirksome · irksomely

Relateds

irk

Synonyms

bothersome · tiresome · monotonous · longsome · drudgerous · wearisome · wearing · drippy · annoying · tedious · irksome · wearisome · irritating · tedious · torporific

Translations (28)

nl vervelend (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · grc ὀχληρός (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · bg неприятен (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · es fastidioso (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · th น่าเบื่อ (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · ro enervant (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · hy տաղտուկ (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · mi mākatikati (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · ro fastidios (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · ga liosta (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · uk надокучливий (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · uk дратівливий (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · uk набридливий (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · bg досаден (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · fr fastidieux (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · mi hīrawerawe (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · fi hankala (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · la onerōsus (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · es enfadoso (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · ro plictisitor (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · ka მომაბეზრებელი (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · el ενοχλητικός (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · ro supărător (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · th น่ารำคาญ (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · la molestus (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · ka გასაბრაზებელი (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · ka გამაღიზიანებელი (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious) · ka თავმომაბეზრებელი (disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothersome; annoying; irritating; wearisome; tedious)