Word of the Day Archive
Monday January 28, 2002
irascible \ih-RASS-uh-buhl\
, adjective:
Prone to anger; easily provoked to anger; hot-tempered.
The lawyer described his client as an irascible eighty-two-year-old eccentric who alternated between spinning fascinating tales about her past and cussing him out.
-- Jack Olsen, Hastened to the Grave
His father was an irascible and boastful bully, a heavy drinker and a gambler.
-- Robin Waterfield, Prophet: The Life and Times of Kahlil Gibran
Irascible is from Latin irascibilis, "prone to anger," from ira, "anger," which is also the source of ire and irate.
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for irascible
