an·noy
(ə-noí)
[Middle English anoien, from Old French anoier, ennuyer, from Vulgar Latin* inodiāre, to make odious, from Latin in odio, odious, in, in; see in–2, + odiō ablative of odium, hatred.]
transitive verb: -noyed, -noy·ing, -noys.
- To cause slight irritation to (another) by troublesome, often repeated acts.
- Archaic To harass or disturb by repeated attacks.
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.
