irritableir‧ri‧ta‧ble /ˈɪrətəbəl/ adjective 
Examples
Jo was tired, irritable, and depressed.—irritably adverb—irritability /ˌɪrətəˈbɪləti/ noun [uncountable]
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Since Steve quit smoking, he's been really irritable.
- You're turning into an irritable old man.
- Zoe hadn't had much sleep and was feeling tired and irritable.
- In his cabin Stubb wonders what makes the Captain so irritable and restless.
- It made him angry and irritable.
- Poor boy, she thought, away from his loving home and now dumped with an irritable old man.
- She had always been irritable, even in sanity, when she could look after herself.
THESAURUS► bad-tempered
Collocations becoming easily annoyed and talking in an angry unfriendly way to people: · Her husband was a disagreeable, bad-tempered man.· I was wondering why she had been so bad-tempered recently.
► moody often becoming annoyed or unhappy, especially when there seems to be no good reason: · a moody teenager· Myra can be a bit moody sometimes.
► irritable easily annoyed about small things, especially because you are tired, upset, or worried: · I hadn’t had much sleep and was feeling tired and irritable.· Since Steve quit smoking, he’s been really irritable.· You’re turning into an irritable old man.
► grumpy/grouchy easily annoyed and often complaining about things – used especially when talking about people you know well. These words sound much gentler and less critical than bad-tempered: · There’s no need to be so grumpy!· He woke up in a grouchy mood.
► be in a bad mood to be feeling annoyed or unhappy, so that you do not speak in a normal friendly way to people – used especially when this only lasts for a fairly short period of time and is not part of someone’s usual character: · Leave him alone – he’s in a bad mood today.· By the time I got home at 9 o'clock, I was in a really bad mood.
► have/have got a short fuse informal to be likely to become angry very suddenly, especially in an unreasonable way: · Be careful what you say to the Colonel - he’s got a very short fuse.
► cantankerous written bad-tempered and complaining or quarrelling a lot – used especially about old people: · The hotel owner was a cantankerous old man.· In later years, she became quite cantankerous.
Longman Language Activatoreasily annoyed► irritable easily annoyed by unimportant things, especially because you already feel bad-tempered about something: · Since Steve quit smoking, he's been really irritable.· Zoe hadn't had much sleep and was feeling tired and irritable.· You're turning into an irritable old man.
► touchy someone who is touchy is easily offended and made angry by things, so you have to be careful what you say to them: · Saiid's a little touchy about how you pronounce her name.touchy about: · Try not to look at his scars - he can be really touchy about it.
► crotchety an old person who is crotchety becomes angry about unimportant things and complains a lot: · a crotchety old man· When we were in Germany, we rented a room from a crotchety old woman named Brunhilde.
► short-tempered/quick-tempered someone who is short-tempered gets angry quickly and easily: · Jackie can be very short-tempered when she's hungry.· Her father is a quick-tempered man.
► have a short fuse informal to often get angry quickly and easily: · They say the judge has a very short fuse.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► bowel
getting annoyed quickly or easily SYN crabby, bad-tempered: · The physiological significance of the findings in diarrhoea predominant irritable bowel syndrome patients, which were contrary to expectation, is unknown.· The first four symptoms encompass the six Manning criteria for diagnosing irritable bowel syndrome.· It is not difficult to imagine how a disorder such as irritable bowel syndrome could affect a patient psychologically.· An extra tablespoon sprinkled over the breakfast cereal can help control irritable bowel syndrome, piles, appendicitis and bowel cancer.· This study lacked objective or prospective data and was biased by the exclusion from the controls of people with irritable bowel syndrome.· This was not necessary with irritable bowel syndrome symptoms as their prevalence does not change with age in this population.· It also inhibits motor activity induced by rectal distention and increases sensory thresholds for defaecation in patients with the irritable bowel syndrome.· The same drug given intravenously prevents the postprandial increase in sigmoid segmenting pressure activity in patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
Jo was tired, irritable, and depressed.—irritably adverb—irritability /ˌɪrətəˈbɪləti/ noun [uncountable]