IR'RITATE, v.t. [L. irrito; in and ira, wrath.]
1. To excite heat and redness in the skin or flesh of living animal bodies, as by friction; to inflame; to fret; as, to irritate a wounded part by a coarse bandage.
2. To excite anger; to provoke; to tease; to exasperate. Never irritate a child for trifling faults. The insolence of a tyrant irritates his subjects.
3. To increase action or violence; to highten excitement in.
Air, if very cold, irritateth the flame.
4. To cause fibrous contractions in an extreme part of the sensorium, as by the appulse of an external body.
