Chafing

chafe  (chf)

v. chafed, chaf·ing, chafes

v.tr.

1. To wear away or irritate by rubbing.

2. To annoy; vex.

3. To warm by rubbing, as with the hands.

v.intr.

1. To rub and cause irritation or friction: The high collar chafed against my neck.

2. To become worn or sore from rubbing.

3. To feel irritated or impatient: chafed at the delay.

n.

1. Warmth, wear, or soreness produced by friction.

2. Annoyance; vexation.

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[Middle English chafen, from Old French chaufer, to warm, from Vulgar Latin *calefre, alteration of Latin calefacere : calre, to be warm; see kel-¹ in Indo-European roots + facere, to make; see dh- in Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: chafe, abrade, excoriate, fret¹, gall²
These verbs mean to wear down or rub away a surface by or as if by scraping: chafed my skin; water abrading the canyon walls; metal bristles that excoriated her scalp; rope that fretted a groove in the post; stone steps galled by years of heavy use.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

chafing - soreness or irritation of the skin caused by friction intertrigo - chafing between two skin surfaces that are in contact (as in the armpit or under the breasts or between the thighs) soreness, tenderness, rawness - a pain that is felt (as when the area is touched); "the best results are generally obtained by inserting the needle into the point of maximum tenderness"; "after taking a cold, rawness of the larynx and trachea come on"