annoy

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“
The French word ennui_, which now only means weariness of mind, signified formerly injury, and the vexation or hatred caused thereby; something like the English word "annoy," as in Shakespeare's Richard III., v.

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Definitions (13)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. transitive verb To cause slight irritation to (another) by troublesome, often repeated acts.
  2. transitive verb Archaic To harass or disturb by repeated attacks.
  3. Syntax Note
    Synonyms: annoy, irritate, bother, irk, vex, provoke, aggravate, peeve, rile
    These verbs mean to disturb or trouble a person, evoking moderate anger. Annoy refers to mild disturbance caused by an act that tries one's patience: The sound of the printer annoyed me.
    Irritate is somewhat stronger: I was irritated by their constant interruptions.
    Bother implies imposition: In the end, his complaining just bothered the supervisor.
    Irk connotes a wearisome quality: The city council's inactivity irked the community.
    Vex applies to an act capable of arousing anger or perplexity: Hecklers in the crowd vexed the speaker.
    Provoke implies strong and often deliberate incitement to anger: His behavior provoked me to reprimand the whole team.
    Aggravate is a less formal equivalent: "Threats only served to aggravate people in such cases” (William Makepeace Thackeray).
    Peeve, also somewhat informal, suggests a querulous, resentful response to a mild disturbance: Your flippant answers peeved me.
    To rile is to upset and to stir up: It riled me to have to listen to such lies.

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Examples

  • The French word ennui_, which now only means weariness of mind, signified formerly injury, and the vexation or hatred caused thereby; something like the English word "annoy," as in Shakespeare's Richard III., v. —  Sganarelle, or, the Self-Deceived Husband
  • The French word _ennui_, which now only means weariness of mind, signified formerly injury, and the vexation or hatred caused thereby; something like the English word "annoy," as in Shakespeare's Richard III., v. 3: —  Sganarelle, or, the Self-Deceived Husband
  • Felicitous annoy, as bitter-sweet —  Robert Browning
  • "Linkjoint!" he said in obvious annoy - ance. —  The Gates of Thorbardin
  • “Did you just say something dirty?” —  Run For The Money
 

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English anoien, from Old French anoier, ennuyer, from Vulgar Latin *inodiāre, to make odious, from Latin in odio, odious : in, in; see in-2 + odiō, ablative of odium, hatred; see od- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Early modern English anoy, anoye, also ennoy and abbreviation noy, from Middle English anoye, anuy, anuye, anui, discomfort, vexation, weariness, ennui, from Old French anoi, anui, enoi, enui, later ennuy, annoy, vexation, grief, tediousness, modern F. ennui (later English ennui, q. v.) = Provencal enoi, enuoi = Spanish enojo = Portuguese anojo, nojo = Italian annoja, noja = OIt nojo, orig. (Milanese dial.) inodio, from Latin in odio, literally in hatred, a phrase used in certain common idiomatic expressions, as in odio esse, be hateful (est mihi in odio, it is offensive to me), in odio venire, become hateful: in = English in; odio, ablative of odium, hatred: see in and odium.
  2. Early modern English also anoy, anoye, anoie, from Middle English anoyen, anoien, anuyen, anuien, anyen, anuen, from Old French anoier, enoier, anuier, enuier, later ennuyer, annoy, vex, weary, irk, modern F. ennuyer (see ennuyé) = Provencal enoiar, enuiar = Spanish Portuguese enojar, Portuguese also anojar = Italian nojare, annojare, Old Italian inodiare; from the noun.
 

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/əˈnɔɪ/
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