irritant

[ir-i-tnt]

adjective

1. tending to cause irritation; irritating. irritating.

noun

1. anything that irritates.

2. Physiology, Pathology.,  a biological, chemical, or physical agent that stimulates a characteristic function or elicits a response, especially an inflammatory response.

irritant

/ ˈɪrɪtənt /

adjective

1. causing irritation; irritating

noun

1. something irritant

Other Word Forms

• irritancy noun
• nonirritancy noun
• nonirritant adjective
• unirritant adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of irritant¹

1630–40; < Latin irrītant- (stem of irrītāns ), present participle of irrītāre to irritate; -ant

Example Sentences

They are meant to collect the powdered tear gas chemicals, to keep the irritants from being tracked into the building on the soles of their shoes like dust.

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Sydney Seiler, senior advisor and Korea chair at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the timing of the raids was an “irritant” but that South Korean companies would eventually adjust.

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Researchers say their bodies are covered with “irritant hairs” that, if touched, can cause dermatitis and a rash.

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Sometimes local police will scare bears out of residents’ homes with air horns or projectiles that release an irritant akin to pepper spray, but they are legally limited in what they can do.

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The people involved hurled objects, sprayed irritants and tossed fireworks — attacks that continued for hours until officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Highway Patrol quelled the violence.

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