irritant

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɪrɪtənt/ UK /ˈɪrɪtənt/ See IPA manual

noun adj

Meanings

1

noun
something that causes irritation or annoyance

Chlorine is a common irritant to the eyes and lungs.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · something that causes... annoyance nuisance aggravation bother provocation vexation

Opposites

sootherbalm relief

Word family

Derived forms irritancy

Related forms irritate irritation irritable

Etymology

From Latin irritant-, present participle stem of irritare 'to excite, provoke, annoy', of uncertain ultimate origin.

irritare Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# irritant

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** ˈɪrɪtənt
**IPA (UK):** ˈɪrɪtənt

## Meanings
1. something that causes irritation or annoyance

## Examples
- Chlorine is a common irritant to the eyes and lungs.

## Synonyms
- annoyance
- nuisance
- aggravation
- bother
- provocation
- vexation

## Antonyms
- soother
- balm
- relief

## Derived Forms
- irritancy

## Related Forms
- irritate
- irritation
- irritable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: irritare

## Etymology
From Latin irritant-, present participle stem of irritare 'to excite, provoke, annoy', of uncertain ultimate origin.

## AI Etymology
Irritant comes from Latin irritant-, present participle stem of irritare 'to excite, provoke, annoy', of uncertain ultimate origin. The etymological trail includes Latin irritare. As a noun, irritant means something that causes irritation or annoyance. The same family is visible in derived forms such as irritancy and related forms such as irritate, irritation, and irritable. The uncertainty belongs to the older derivation, so the explanation should preserve alternatives rather than choosing one unsupported origin.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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irritant

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