annoyance

annoyance — noun

1. the slight angry, impatient feeling you get when something or someone keeps both

1.nounC1
Definition

the slight angry, impatient feeling you get when something or someone keeps bothering you or stops you from doing what you want.

Example

Citlali could hear the annoyance in her father's voice when he saw the broken vase.

the annoyance in [someone]'s voice — common collocation

To the teacher's great annoyance, the students kept whispering during the test.

to [someone]'s (great) annoyance — sentence-level pattern

Common collocations
  • express annoyance
  • hide one's annoyance
  • feel annoyance
  • to my annoyance
  • with annoyance
  • growing annoyance
  • mild annoyance
Synonyms
  • irritation

    very close in meaning; slightly more focused on the prickly mental sensation.

  • frustration

    stronger, suggests being blocked from a goal, not just bothered.

  • displeasure

    more formal; covers any dissatisfied feeling, not only the prickly bothered kind.

Antonyms
  • pleasure

    the positive feeling that something is enjoyable, not bothersome.

  • delight

    stronger positive feeling; common in the parallel frame 'to her delight'.

Grammar Patterns

to someone's annoyance

with annoyance

Usage Note

Uncountable in this sense — say 'felt great annoyance', not 'an annoyance'. Frequently appears in fixed frames such as 'to (someone's) annoyance' and 'with annoyance', or paired with verbs like 'hide', 'show', 'cause', 'express'.

Common Mistakes

I felt an annoyance when he was late.
I felt annoyance when he was late.
in the feeling sense, 'annoyance' is uncountable, so no 'an' or plural.
He looked at me with a big annoyance.
He looked at me with great annoyance.
modify with 'great', 'mild', 'obvious', not 'big'.

2. a thing, situation, or person that keeps causing you a small amount of trouble o

2.nounC1
Definition

a thing, situation, or person that keeps causing you a small amount of trouble or bother, though not real harm.

Example

The mosquitoes by the lake were a constant annoyance during our family camping trip.

a constant annoyance — typical adjective collocation

For Viraj, his neighbor's barking dog was a daily annoyance he could no longer ignore.

subject = a person/thing; complement = annoyance

Common collocations
  • a minor annoyance
  • a constant annoyance
  • a real annoyance
  • small annoyances
  • daily annoyance
Synonyms
  • nuisance

    very close synonym; slightly more focused on something that is repeatedly inconvenient.

  • bother

    more informal; emphasizes the small effort it costs you.

  • irritant

    formal; suggests something that constantly rubs people the wrong way.

Antonyms
  • blessing

    something that brings comfort or benefit, the opposite of a small repeated bother.

Grammar Patterns

a minor / constant / small annoyance

Usage Note

Countable here, so 'a/an' or plural is correct ('a minor annoyance', 'small annoyances of city life'). Distinguish from sense 1 (FEELING): if you can replace it with 'irritation as a feeling', it is sense 1; if you can replace it with 'nuisance' or 'bother', it is sense 2.

Common Mistakes

My slow laptop is annoyance.
My slow laptop is an annoyance.
countable, so it needs 'a/an' or a plural.
The traffic was a big annoyance for him.
The traffic was a major annoyance for him.
pair with 'minor', 'major', 'constant', 'real', not 'big'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name unhappy feelings, but they differ in cause, strength, and tone. 'Annoyance' is everyday and mild — the prickly feeling caused by something small that keeps bothering you, like a buzzing fly or a forgotten reply. 'Irritation' is its closest relative and often interchangeable, though it can suggest a slightly sharper, more visible reaction. 'Frustration' is stronger and aimed at being blocked: you feel frustration when you cannot reach a goal, not just when something is annoying. 'Displeasure' is the most formal and the most controlled — a boss might 'express displeasure', while a friend would simply 'show annoyance'. So you can say, 'Citlali felt annoyance at the constant interruptions', but, 'Citlali felt frustration that the project was going nowhere'.

annoyance ↗irritationfrustration ↗displeasure ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • a note of annoyance
  • a sign of annoyance
  • a source of annoyance
  • a look of annoyance

Adverbs

Phrases

  • much to my annoyance
  • hide one's annoyance
  • express annoyance

Prepositions

  • to (someone's) annoyance
  • with annoyance
  • annoyance at
  • annoyance over

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

'Annoyance' came into English from Old French 'anoiance' in the 1300s, built on the verb 'anoier' (to trouble or bore), which itself goes back to the Latin phrase 'in odio' meaning 'in a state of hatred or dislike'. The earliest English uses described the act of harming or troubling someone; over time the word softened, and by the modern period it mostly named either the bothered feeling or the small thing that causes it.