2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Irritation  \Ir`ri*ta"tion\,  n.  [L.  irritatio:  cf  F. 
  irritation.] 
  1.  The  act  of  irritating,  or  exciting,  or  the  state  of  being 
  irritated;  excitement;  stimulation,  usually  of  an  undue 
  and  uncomfortable  kind  especially,  excitement  of  anger  or 
  passion;  provocation;  annoyance;  anger. 
 
  The  whole  body  of  the  arts  and  sciences  composes  one 
  vast  machinery  for  the  irritation  and  development  of 
  the  human  intellect.  --De  Quincey. 
 
  2.  (Physiol.)  The  act  of  exciting,  or  the  condition  of  being 
  excited  to  action  by  stimulation;  --  as  the  condition  of 
  an  organ  of  sense  when  its  nerve  is  affected  by  some 
  external  body;  esp.,  the  act  of  exciting  muscle  fibers  to 
  contraction,  by  artificial  stimulation;  as  the  irritation 
  of  a  motor  nerve  by  electricity;  also  the  condition  of  a 
  muscle  and  nerve,  under  such  stimulation. 
 
  3.  (Med.)  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 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  irritation 
  n  1:  the  psychological  state  of  being  irritated  or  annoyed  [syn: 
  {annoyance},  {vexation}] 
  2:  a  sudden  outburst  of  anger;  "his  temper  sparked  like  damp 
  firewood"  [syn:  {pique},  {temper}] 
  3:  an  uncomfortable  feeling  in  some  part  of  the  body  [syn:  {discomfort}, 
  {soreness},  {tenderness}] 
  4:  unfriendly  behavior  that  aggravates  or  irritates  someone 
  [syn:  {aggravation},  {provocation}] 
  5:  the  act  of  annoying  someone  [syn:  {annoyance},  {annoying},  {vexation}, 
  {troubling}] 

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