How to Use irk in a Sentence

irk

verb
Definition of irknext
Synonyms for irknext
  • One of the things that irks me, people talk about the war in Ukraine.
    — Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 8 Feb. 2024
  • Green Day rang in the new year by irking the richest man in the world.
    — Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2024
  • Spicer’s longevity on the show seemed to irk Judge Len Goodman the most.
    — Lynette Rice, EW.com, 12 Nov. 2019
  • Here began a pattern that irked Joplin for the rest of his life.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 29 June 2023
  • These gloomy forecasts alone would have been enough to irk Trump.
    — John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 12 June 2020
  • But the very suggestion of the format change has been enough to irk some.
    — George Ramsay, CNN, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Her insouciance seems to at once irk and fascinate the rest of the cast.
    — Time, 21 Aug. 2023
  • If this irks you, give the bag a shake halfway through the cook time, after 12–14 minutes.
    — Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 11 July 2023
  • That allegedly irked the Spartans, who asked for the same amount of time off, but were turned down.
    — Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2024
  • Adding a role to the list could irk Tesla shareholders.
    — New York Times, 4 Apr. 2022
  • But the question now — the question that will irk Harbaugh and his coaching staff in the days to come — is at what cost?
    — Michael Cohen, Detroit Free Press, 7 Nov. 2021
  • Today, Javier is 51, with a square jaw, a soft smile and a sort of self-help guru vibe, which irked me at first.
    — John J. Lennon, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Caped Crusaders, and the villains who irk them, fill screens every year.
    — WIRED, 18 Sep. 2022
  • But the on-stage denial seemed to irk Warren, who may have felt that this live TV callout breached their pact.
    — Tanya Edwards, refinery29.com, 17 Jan. 2020
  • Aiyuk was irked that his coach that week in practice pulled him off kickoff and punt returns.
    — Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 9 Feb. 2024
  • So the question is not whether there will be slips or missteps that will irk observers during the evening, but how many.
    — Gordon Cox, Variety, 24 Sep. 2021
  • In some cases, though, the Giants have pushed the game forward in ways that irk their opponents.
    — New York Times, 24 Apr. 2022
  • This was a one-time joke designed to irk our most gullible and obsessive readers.
    — Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2022
  • The vastness of space has never been more vivid, even if some of the details may have irked our resident space purists.
    — Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, 23 Dec. 2019
  • The fact that the A’s are moving to Sacramento, of all cities, especially irked some fans.
    — Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
  • There are many misconceptions about gluten-free food, but the one that irks me the most is the idea that gluten-free baked goods have the taste and texture of cardboard.
    — Endia Fontanez, The Arizona Republic, 21 Mar. 2023
  • That irks readers, who have been prolific in emails to make their grievances known.
    — Cquinn, cleveland, 22 July 2023
  • He was irked when a woman came to a public talk and argued that they should be restituted.
    — Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 5 Aug. 2023
  • These are big issues of the kind that tend to irk credit rating companies.
    — William Pesek, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2021
  • At the time, cultured meat seemed to irk most on a fundamental level.
    — Gabe Toner, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2022
  • Dear Carolyn: My mostly wonderful boyfriend has a few habits that irk me, e.g. being late all the time.
    — Washington Post, 31 Dec. 2020
  • The paltry sum irked Bezos, the people say, and made him even more determined to try something new.
    — Bloomberg Wire, Dallas News, 3 Feb. 2020
  • Soon after, Loretta leaves the party, seemingly irked that Ben’s returned to the realm of the living.
    — Lauren Puckett-Pope, ELLE, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Biden, for his part, has made comments — off the cuff at fundraisers or in brief exchanges with reporters — that have irked Beijing.
    — Ellen Nakashima, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2023
  • On one hand, some residents complain that the celebrity couple want to create a large lake for recreational open-water swimming and have been irked by the noise and mess caused by the excavation work.
    — Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'irk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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