irritation

/ˌɪɹ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/

//ˌɪɹ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"irritation" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“irritation” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #16,736. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#16,736
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of irritating or annoying.

Corpus desk

Index EN-irritation · irritation · English

irritation · rank #16,736 · 13 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #16,736
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH inverted

Nearest frequency peer: inverted (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “irritation”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “irritation” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

irritation vs imitation
80% similar
irritation vs invitation
80% similar
irritation vs irrigation
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for irritation
PropertyValue
Headwordirritation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɪɹ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/
Letters10
Frequency rank#16,736
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “irritation”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).irritationlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “inverted” (#16,735), “inverse” (#16,734), “intrusion” (#16,733). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “irritation” is #16,736. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around irritation (IPA /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #16,736 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for irritation, with forms such as "irirtation", "iritation", and "irriattion". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "imitation", "invitation", "irrigation", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French irritation, from Latin irrītātiō, from irrītāre (“to excite”). The correct English form is irritation, spelled I-R-R-I-T-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of irritating or annoying.
  2. 2
    The state of being irritated.
  3. 3
    A thing or person that annoys.
  4. 4
    A state of inflammation or of painful reaction to cell or tissue damage.
  5. 5
    A condition of morbid excitability or oversensitiveness of an organ or part of the body; a state in which the application of ordinary stimuli produces pain or excessive or vitiated action.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how irritation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. What irritation causes you to be so moody?
  2. It has already been established that the crew was competent and qualified for operation of AS66. With the exception of some overtones of irritation about the manner in which another aircraft, N799Y, affected the flight's progress into the Juneau area, the recorded cockpit conversation, in general, reflects a relaxed but businesslike atmosphere.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French irritation, from Latin irrītātiō, from irrītāre (“to excite”).

This word in other languages

irritación(Español)irritation(Français)Ärger(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • irirtation
  • iritation
  • irriattion
  • irritaiton
  • irritasion
  • irritatino
  • irritationn
  • irritatoin
  • irritattion
  • irrittaion
  • irrittation
  • irrtiation
  • riritation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of irritation - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

irirtation2iritation1irriattion2irritaiton2irritasion1irritatino2irritationn1irritatoin2
Edit distance from "irritation"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "irritation"?
"irritation" is spelled I-R-R-I-T-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/.
What does "irritation" mean?
As a noun, "irritation" means: The act of irritating or annoying.
What words are commonly confused with "irritation"?
"irritation" is commonly confused with "imitation", "invitation", "irrigation". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "irritation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "irritation" is /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "irritation"?
Borrowed from Middle French irritation, from Latin irrītātiō, from irrītāre (“to excite”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "irritation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Hutchinson#16,729livelihood#16,743Livingston#16,744fertilizer#16,708

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

misguided13 variantsfarmhouse13 variantscultivate13 variantscowardly13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list