rub someone the wrong way
rub someone the wrong way verb: to cause someone irritation, discomfort or annoyance, often unintentionally, because of one's behavior, manner, attitude or personality.
Verb
rub someone the wrong way (third-person singular simple present rubs someone the wrong way, present participle rubbing someone the wrong way, simple past and past participle rubbed someone the wrong way)
- To cause someone irritation, discomfort or annoyance, often unintentionally, because of one's behavior, manner, attitude or personality.
- “Look, I tell you what, Mac. Seeing how as you're my best friend” “Yeah!” “Maybe you can look into it for me. Go snoop around the shop.” “Can-can I stop you for a second? I'm sorry. I'm a little confused here. You-you just said that he was your best friend? How is he your best friend over me?”...2008 September 25, David Hornsby, “Mac's Banging the Waitress” (1:38 from the start), in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, season 4, episode 4, spoken by Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day)
- Synonyms:
- chap someone's hide, raise someone's hackles, aggravate, annoy, nettle, rankle, ruffle, sting, burn someone's ass, antagonize
Synonyms of rub someone the wrong way
Forms of rub someone the wrong way
| third-person singular present | rubs someone the wrong way |
|---|---|
| present participle | rubbing someone the wrong way |
| past participle | rubbed someone the wrong way |
| past | rubbed someone the wrong way |
| alternative form | rub someone up the wrong way |
Origin of rub someone the wrong way
From the negative reaction of a cat to being stroked contrary to the direction its fur lies.
Questions about rub someone the wrong way
- What does rub someone the wrong way mean?
- Rub someone the wrong way means to cause someone irritation, discomfort or annoyance, often unintentionally, because of one's behavior, manner, attitude or personality.
- What part of speech is rub someone the wrong way?
- Rub someone the wrong way is a verb.
- What is the past tense of rub someone the wrong way?
- The past tense of rub someone the wrong way is rubbed someone the wrong way.
Words near rub someone the wrong way in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: rub someone the wrong way (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-rub someone the wrong way.ogg.
Cite this entry: “rub someone the wrong way.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/rub_someone_the_wrong_way. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.