See annoy in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms
annoy irritate bother irk vex provoke aggravate peeve rile
These verbs mean to disturb or trouble a person, evoking moderate anger. Annoy refers to mild disturbance caused by an act that tries one's patience: The sound of the printer annoyed me.
Irritate is somewhat stronger: I was irritated by their constant interruptions.
Bother implies imposition: In the end, his complaining just bothered the supervisor.
Irk connotes a wearisome quality: The city council's inactivity irked the community.
Vex applies to an act capable of arousing anger or perplexity: Hecklers in the crowd vexed the speaker.
Provoke implies strong and often deliberate incitement to anger: His behavior provoked me to reprimand the whole team.
Aggravate is a less formal equivalent: “Threats only served to aggravate people in such cases” (William Makepeace Thackeray).
Peeve, also somewhat informal, suggests a querulous, resentful response to a mild disturbance: Your flippant answers peeved me.
To rile is to upset and to stir up: It riled me to have to listen to such lies.
See annoy in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
verb
To trouble the nerves or peace of mind of, especially by repeated vexations:
aggravate, bother, bug, chafe, disturb, exasperate, fret, gall2, get, irk, irritate, nettle, peeve, provoke, put out, rile, ruffle, vex. Idioms: get in one's hair, get on one's nerves, get under one's skin. See feelings, painTo disturb by repeated attacks:
bait, bedevil, beleaguer, beset, harass, harry, pester, plague, tease, torment, worry. See feelings, pain
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