Which to use
“irritating” is an adjective and “irritation” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,798
- “irritating” frequency rank
- #16,736
- “irritation” frequency rank
- 29534
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | irritating | irritation |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Causing irritation, annoyance or pain. | The act of irritating or annoying. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set irritating and irritation apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: irritating is anadjective and irritationanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29534, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
irritating is recorded at frequency rank #12,798, classified as anadj. irritation is at rank #16,736, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 29534, this pair ranks #362,177 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of irritating vs irritation
Shared letters: ainrt. Private to "irritating": g. Private to "irritation": o.
"irritating" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVCC · "irritation" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- irritating ← irirtating · iritating · irriatting · irritaitng · irritatign · irritatingg · irritatinng · irritatnig
- irritation ← irirtation · iritation · irriattion · irritaiton · irritasion · irritatino · irritationn · irritatoin
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "irritating" and "irritation" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "irritating" or "irritation"?
Remembering irritating vs irritation
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “irritating”; for a noun, it's “irritation”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “irritating” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable