To annoy or bother someone repeatedly, or to make part of your body feel uncomfortable or sore.
From Latin 'irritare' meaning to provoke or incite. The word comes from 'ir-' (into) and 'ritare' (to rub or scrape). It originally had a physical meaning of rubbing the skin, then extended to emotional and psychological meanings.
Your body has special sensory cells called nociceptors that literally mean 'pain detectors'—when something irritates your skin, these cells are sending distress signals at lightning speed to your brain!
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