irritant

[ ir-i-tnt ]
See synonyms for irritant on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. tending to cause irritation; 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.

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Origin of irritant

1
1630–40; <Latin irrītant- (stem of irrītāns), present participle of irrītāre to irritate; see -ant

Other words from irritant

  • ir·ri·tan·cy, noun
  • non·ir·ri·tan·cy, noun
  • non·ir·ri·tant, adjective
  • un·ir·ri·tant, adjective

Words Nearby irritant

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How to use irritant in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for irritant

irritant

/ (ˈɪrɪtənt) /


adjective
  1. causing irritation; irritating

noun
  1. something irritant

Derived forms of irritant

  • irritancy, noun

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