Irriterat

Irriterat is a Swedish adjective and past participle form of the verb irritera. It describes a state that has resulted from irritation or something that has been irritated. The form is most commonly used with neuter singular nouns in attributive position, as in ett irriterat öga, and also in predicative constructions: Ögat var irriterat. For en-words (common gender), the corresponding predicative form is irriterad: Huden var irriterad. In everyday language, irriterat often appears in neutral or technical contexts, while irriterad is the more general form for describing a person or animal that is irritated.

Present participle forms related to irritate include irritarande, which yields the adjective irritande meaning irritating or causing irritation.

Etymology: irritera comes from Latin irritare and entered Swedish through Romance and Germanic linguistic routes. The participle suffix -erat/-erad follows the standard pattern for -era verbs in Swedish, producing -erat for neuter nouns and -erad for common-gender nouns in predicative position.

Usage notes: In ordinary speech about people, irriterad is typically used (e.g., Huden var irriterad, han blev irriterad). I contrast, irriterat is more common when describing nonhuman subjects or when speaking in more clinical or descriptive language (ett irriterat öga). The present participle irritarande (irriterande) is used to refer to something that causes irritation, such as en irriterande lukt.

See also: irritera, irritation, irriterad, irriterande, irritant.