irritant

American  

[ir-i-tnt] / ˈɪr ɪ tnt /

adjective

1. tending to cause irritation; irritating. irritating.

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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 British  

/ ˈɪrɪtənt /

adjective

1. causing irritation; irritating

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noun

1. something irritant

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:

• vesicant vs. irritant

Example Sentences

Rapid-response teams—made up of locals riding motorcycles and armed with firecrackers and devices that spray chili-pepper irritants—try to steer wandering elephants back into protected areas.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

It was “related to chemical irritants used by the ICE agents,” according to Minneapolis fire-dispatch audio.

From The Wall Street Journal

When observers gathered, the ICE officers deployed chemical irritants.

From Salon

OTTAWA—Canada anticipates progress with China on resolving trade irritants regarding canola and electric vehicles during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing this week, officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal