annoy implies a wearing on the nerves by persistent petty unpleasantness.
their constant complaining annoys us
vex implies greater provocation and stronger disturbance and usually connotes anger but sometimes perplexity or anxiety.
vexed by her son's failure to clean his room
irk stresses difficulty in enduring and the resulting weariness or impatience of spirit.
careless waste irks the boss
bother suggests interference with comfort or peace of mind.
don't bother me while I'm reading
Example Sentences
Verb Drivers were irked by the higher gasoline prices. It irks me to have to clean up after you. Noun one of the prof's major irks is a cell phone that rings during a lecture
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Caped Crusaders, and the villains who irk them, fill screens every year.WIRED, 18 Sep. 2022 The program was reinstated, as an extracurricular activity, in 1972, but the situation continued to irk Alito. Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 28 Aug. 2022 The donations irk some Democrats, who say the money won’t make a difference in Cheney’s race and would be better spent helping Democrats in tight contests as the party struggles to hold control of Congress. Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2022 Such commendations, however, could irk those in the pro-Trump wing of the GOP -- who already may be skeptical of Pence -- at the same time that the former vice president has not downplayed future political aspirations.ABC News, 21 June 2022 Reels has proven wildly unpopular and even managed to irk a Kardashian or two.Wired, 1 Aug. 2022 Over the past year, producers behind some of the hottest US blockbusters have kept in scenes that could irk China's censors, apparently less concerned about the potential loss of access to theaters across the country of 1.4 billion people. Michelle Toh, CNN, 8 July 2022 The proposal under consideration would waive debt of $10,000 per borrower, an amount that is certain to irk progressives for not going far enough and opponents for potentially exacerbating inflation. Courtney Subramanianstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2022 But the approach the IWA—which has not returned our request for comment—has taken seems to really irk him. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 15 June 2022
Noun
The violence gets worse from there, and somehow all that is supposed to fit into a show about a Washington socialite whose biggest irk in the premiere is her rivalry with the first lady.Washington Post, 22 Apr. 2022 The Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson varieties seem to sit somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of immunological irk. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 1 Dec. 2021 From that slight irk, a fuse is now irrevocably lit. Hank Stuever, Washington Post, 13 June 2019 But under the direction of Susannah Martin, those devices more irk than stoke fear. Lily Janiak, SFChronicle.com, 25 June 2018 See More