irksome

Definition

Marked by irritation or annoyance; disagreeable; troublesome by reason of long continuance or repetition

Etymology

From Middle English irkesome, irksum, equivalent to irk + -some, or perhaps continuing (in altered form) from Old English weorcsum (“painful, hurtful”).

Example Sentences

• "He has this irksome habit of racing up to red lights, so he has to brake heavily."
• "The young Spaniard had been in many situations of greater difficulty, but in none more irksome."
• "But winter can also be judged by the prominence of another scourge, one that is especially irksome in a city that places a premium on being well-groomed and immaculately coiffed: hat hair."

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