irritate vs exasperate

irritate and exasperate both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
irritate	No	No	Yes	No
exasperate	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, exasperate is a hypernym of irritate; that is, exasperate is a word with a broader meaning than irritate:

Other hypernyms of irritate include aggravate, exacerbate, worsen.

irritate (verb)	exasperate (verb)
excite to an abnormal condition, or chafe or inflame	make worse
excite to some characteristic action or condition, such as motion, contraction, or nervous impulse, by the application of a stimulus	exasperate or irritate
cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations	make furious