1
as in annoys
to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts
unintentionally or not, you say rude things that grate people
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of grates
And though Billy Bob Thornton and Ali Larter's dysfunctional love story still grates, corporate drama and spikes of heart drive the Paramount+ series.
—
Ew Staff November 14, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Nov. 2025
Nothing grates quite like those slick pharmaceutical ads blaring across the TV, promising quick fixes while soft-pedaling potential side effects.
—Alex Ward, Boston Herald, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for grates
Verb
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One of its two young sibling protagonists, Amber (Bianca Belle), channels her feelings about the recent death of her mother into drawings of creatures born out of her troubled imagination, some of whom enact violence against the classmate who annoys her.—
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There's just one thing about Claire Danes that annoys Matthew Rhys.—
Verb
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There are certainly some top-notch barbecue restaurants that made the cut, but the Michelin selection barely scratches the surface of the South’s long, proud barbecue tradition.—
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The affidavit said that the victim suffered minor injuries, including a bruise on her left eye and scratches on the right side of her neck.—
Verb
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Feeney’s book features multiple narrators, but relativity is not an idea the series bothers to develop.—
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Now, wages have grown, but inflation bothers people.—
Verb
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Dramatic silence after someone makes a comment that rubs them the wrong way.—
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Finally, with the boom of a cannon and the roar of the crowd, each team member and coach rubs Howard’s Rock for luck before hurtling down the hill toward the home sideline.—
Verb
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With a palette knife, Callie Siskel scrapes at the raw face of elegy, revealing interior forms on a canvas where the poet’s father lives beyond death.—
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But the legendary key party scene only scrapes the surface, and the film's blue-gray moodiness is downright enveloping, not to mention its brutally honest depiction of family ties.—
Verb
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In other words, alcohol disrupts hydration, irritates the gut, inflames blood vessels, messes with sleep, and forces your liver into metabolic overdrive.—
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Without this process, the air would be colder and drier, which irritates and constricts the airways and can lead to inflammation.—
Verb
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But Kingstown grinds him up through the prison riots, through being fired from his job to accidentally being responsible for the death of his mother.—
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But Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby mustered just two shot attempts apiece, spending their time watching idly as the Knicks offense incessantly grinds into a standstill.—
Verb
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Check the head and base and foot of the bed, peeling back the top sheet to look for evidence on mattress covers, box springs, dust ruffles, and the headboard—and most importantly, the mattress seams and piping because bed bugs like to hide in cracks and crevices.—
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Both can reduce debris or items that attract the boxelder bugs.—
Cite this Entry
“Grates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/grates. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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