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Meaning & use

annoying

adjective·Everyday

Last updated

UK/əˈnɔɪɪŋ/
US/əˈnɔɪɪŋ/

Meaning

  1. adjectivecomparable

    Making someone feel slightly angry, irritated, or bothered.

    Grammar: Can describe a thing/person before a noun or how something seems after a verb; graded with more/most.

    Patterns

    • annoying habit
    • find something annoying
    • It is annoying when

    The buzzing light was really annoying.

    I find spam calls annoying.

    It is annoying when people talk during the film.

Word forms

comparativemore annoying
superlativemost annoying

Common combinations

really annoying
A frozen screen is really annoying during a meeting.
annoying habit
Clicking a pen is an annoying habit.
find something annoying
Do you find the noise annoying?
mildly annoying
The delay was only mildly annoying.

Synonyms and how they differ

irritating
Close to annoying, but can suggest repeated rubbing on patience or skin.
bothersome
More formal and often means inconvenient or causing trouble, not just irritation.
vexing
Literary or formal, emphasizing frustration from a puzzle or repeated problem.
infuriating
Much stronger than annoying; it means causing real anger.

Opposites

pleasantsoothing

Word family

annoy verb
To make someone feel slightly angry or irritated.
annoyance noun
The feeling of irritation, or something that causes it.
annoyed adjective
Feeling irritation; used for the person affected.

Commonly confused: annoying or annoyed? annoying or noying?

annoying vs annoyed

Annoying describes the cause; annoyed describes the feeling of the person affected.

annoying vs noying

There is no standard word noying; the base verb is annoy.

Practice

Choose the best completion: I find it ___ when colleagues cancel at the last minute.

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