counterirritant

[ koun-ter-ir-i-tuhnt ]
See synonyms for counterirritant on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Medicine/Medical. an agent for producing inflammation in superficial tissues to relieve pain or inflammation in deeper structures.

  2. any irritation or annoyance that draws attention away from another.

adjective
  1. Medicine/Medical. of or acting as a counterirritant.

Origin of counterirritant

1
First recorded in 1850–55; counter- + irritant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use counterirritant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for counterirritant

counterirritant

/ (ˌkaʊntərˈɪrɪtənt) /


noun
  1. an agent that causes a superficial irritation of the skin and thereby relieves inflammation of deep structures

adjective
  1. producing a counterirritation

Derived forms of counterirritant

  • counterirritation, noun

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