irascible
Americanadjective
-
easily provoked to anger; very irritable.
an irascible old man.
- Synonyms:
- short-tempered, choleric, peppery, touchy, testy
- Antonyms:
- even-tempered, calm
-
characterized or produced by anger.
an irascible response.
- Synonyms:
- short-tempered, choleric, peppery, touchy, testy
- Antonyms:
- even-tempered, calm
adjective
-
easily angered; irritable
-
showing irritability
an irascible action
Related Words
See irritable.
Other Word Forms
- irascibility noun
- irascibleness noun
- irascibly adverb
- unirascibility noun
- unirascible adjective
Etymology
Origin of irascible
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English irascibel from Late Latin īrāscibilis, equivalent to Latin īrāsc- (stem of īrāscī “to grow angry”; equivalent to īr(a) ire + -ā- theme vowel + -sc- inchoative suffix + -ī infinitive ending; -esce ) + -ibilis -ible
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ms. Jackson is no apologist—her James has flaws aplenty—but where prior historians offered snide caricature, she portrays a complex leader who was “intelligent, resilient, idiosyncratic, irascible, guileful and witty.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
Off they go in an RV to hit some big amateur tournaments, accompanied by the kid’s mother and the old pro’s irascible buddy.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2025
"We love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful."
From BBC • May 5, 2024
“There was unrest in so many corners, in so many ways and it just happened that you had a candidate who was irascible enough to be able to tap into that unrest,” said Coleman.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 13, 2024
While it did not incapacitate the president, it did weaken him and, according to his cabinet, made him even more irascible.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
