irksome
irk·some/ˈɜɹksəm/adjective
irksome is spelled I-R-K-S-O-M-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables (irk·some). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 64,400th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, irksome means “Marked by irritation or annoyance; disagreeable; troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in irksome?
| Letters | 7: I-R-K-S-O-M-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: irk·some |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 64,400th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is irksome?
Irksome appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 64,400th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce irksome?
- /ˈɜɹksəm/
- /ˈɜːksəm/
Irksome has 2 syllables, split irk·some in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-irksome.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of irksome
- more irksome comparative
- most irksome superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does irksome mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Marked by irritation or annoyance; disagreeable; troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition
He has this irksome habit of racing up to red lights, so he has to brake heavily.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Irksome in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense disagreeable or troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition; bothers:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fastidieux |
| Spanish | fastidioso, enfadoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does irksome come from?
From Middle English irkesome, irksum, equivalent to irk + -some, or perhaps continuing (in altered form) from Old English weorcsum (“painful, hurtful”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).