irritant
Americanadjective
noun
-
anything that irritates.
-
Physiology, Pathology. a biological, chemical, or physical agent that stimulates a characteristic function or elicits a response, especially an inflammatory response.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- irritancy noun
- nonirritancy noun
- nonirritant adjective
- unirritant adjective
Etymology
Origin of irritant
1630–40; < Latin irrītant- (stem of irrītāns ), present participle of irrītāre to irritate; -ant
Compare meaning
How does irritant compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
An irritant is a substance that causes pain, itching, or discomfort. Chlorine, which is commonly used in swimming pools and hot tubs, is an irritant that dries out skin and reddens eyes. A physical irritant does just what it sounds like: it irritates your body in some way. For some people, any scent in hand soap or laundry detergent acts as an irritant, causing itchy rashes. A figurative irritant is someone or something that bugs you. The noise your brother makes when he slurps his cereal every morning might, for example, be an irritant. The word is related to irritate, sharing the Latin root irritare, "provoke."
Vocabulary lists containing irritant
John F. Kennedy's Address to the American People on the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
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"Introduction to Homeland Security," Vocabulary from Chapter 3
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Additional Articles on DDT and Malaria
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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.
"It turns out that a specific irritant receptor is 30 times less sensitive in snow flies than in mosquitoes and fruit flies," Gallio said.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026
Video footage from witnesses showed Pretti holding his phone and filming agents before he was sprayed by a chemical irritant and taken to the ground by federal agents.
From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026
Also an irritant for some locals: Most of the power will go to Tokyo.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025
But even if a sketch doesn’t quite work, you could rest in knowing its discomfort is temporary, with the irritant or foolishness changing every few minutes.
From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025
We have tried wireless, but the noise is such an irritant, and we prefer to store up our excitement; the result of a cricket match played many days ago means much to us.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
