irritant

English

Etymology

From French irritant, equivalent to irritate +‎ -ant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪɹɪtənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

irritant (not comparable)

1. Causing irritation or inflammation.
   • 2026 March 11, Massimo Introvigne, “When Stigmatization Turns Violent: Two CGM Members Assaulted with a Hammer in Taiwan”, in Bitter Winter‎^[1]:

     Lin had harassed the missionary group multiple times. However, he was the one who scheduled a meeting with the two CGM members at a laundromat. Upon meeting, before they could even exchange words, Lin launched an attack. He pulled out a bottle of irritant liquid that he had prepared beforehand and sprayed it into their eyes.

2. (law, Scotland) Rendering null and void; conditionally invalidating.
   • 1603, Hayward, An Answer to the first part of a certaine conference concerning succession:

     The states elected Harry, Duke of Anjou, for their king, with this clause irritant; that, if he did violate any part of his oath, the people should owe him no allegiance.

Translations

causing irritation

• Bulgarian: дразнещ (bg) (draznešt), възбудителен (bg) (vǎzbuditelen)
• German: irritierend (de), aufreizend (de), verwirrend (de)
• Māori: (matū) whakamangeo
• Russian: раздража́ющий (ru) (razdražájuščij)
• Ukrainian: дратівни́й (drativnýj)

Noun

irritant (plural irritants)

1. Any medication designed to cause irritation
2. A source of irritation.

Translations

any medication designed to cause irritation, any substance that causes irritation.

• Māori: matū whakamangeo
• Russian: раздражи́тель (ru) m (razdražítelʹ)

a source of irritation

• Bulgarian: дразнител f (draznitel)
• Esperanto: agacaĵo, malagrablaĵo
• German: Ärgernis (de) n, Reiz (de) m, Nervensäge (de) f
• Māori: namunamu (affecting the skin)
• Russian: раздражи́тель (ru) m (razdražítelʹ)
• Ukrainian: подра́зник m (podráznyk)

Derived terms

• chemoirritant
• counterirritant
• irritancy
• nonirritant
• unirritant

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [i.riˈtan]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [i.riˈtant]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

irritant m or f (masculine and feminine plural irritants)

1. irritating, annoying

Verb

irritant

1. gerund of irritar

Further reading

• “irritant”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “irritant”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “irritant” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “irritant”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French irritant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌi.riˈtɑnt/, /ˌɪ.riˈtɑnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ir‧ri‧tant
• Rhymes: -ɑnt

Adjective

irritant (comparative irritanter, superlative irritantst)

1. annoying, causing irritation or annoyance; vexatious

   Synonyms: vervelend, ergerlijk

Declension

Declension of irritant
uninflected	irritant
inflected	irritante
comparative	irritanter
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		irritant	irritanter	het irritantst het irritantste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	irritante	irritantere	irritantste
	n. sing.	irritant	irritanter	irritantste
	plural	irritante	irritantere	irritantste
definite		irritante	irritantere	irritantste
partitive		irritants	irritanters	—

Derived terms

• bloedirritant
• irritantje
• strontirritant

Related terms

• irritatie
• irriteren

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

Participle

irritant

1. present participle of irriter

Adjective

irritant (feminine irritante, masculine plural irritants, feminine plural irritantes)

1. irritating; annoying

Noun

irritant m (plural irritants)

1. (medicine) irritant

Further reading

• “irritant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Latin

Verb

irrītant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of irrītō