Irritablenesses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A state or quality characterized by a heightened tendency to become annoyed or angry
2. an instance of experiencing or expressing frustration or displeasure in various contexts
3. an overall disposition marked by sensitivity to irritation and a quick temper

Etymology: "Irritablenesses" is simply the plural of "irritableness", which is the noun formed by adding the suffix "-ness" to the adjective "irritable". The adjective itself comes from "irritate", whose Latin source, "irritare", meant to provoke, excite or stir up, so the root idea is of something being stirred into a reaction. The "-ness" suffix is an old English ending that turns an adjective into a noun denoting a quality or state, so "irritableness" names the condition of being irritable. Pluralising it, as in "irritablenesses", is a rare step that treats separate episodes or instances of that quality as countable items, which is why the word is used for individual outbursts of annoyance rather than for the general trait.