IRRITANT • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Irritant

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/ˈɪrətənt/ Listen

noun

Irritant n.

That which irritates or excites.

(Physiol. & Med.) Any agent by which irritation is produced; as, a chemical irritant; a mechanical or electrical irritant.

(Toxicology) A poison that produces inflammation.

Counter irritant. See under Counter.

Pure irritant (Toxicology), a poison that produces inflammation without any corrosive action upon the tissues.

adjective

Irritant adj. (Scots Law) Rendering null and void; conditionally invalidating. "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."

Irritant adj. Irritating; producing irritation or inflammation.

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Etymology of 'Irritant'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Irritant" Quotes from Famous Books

... military work has diminished the time given to them; but they have ceased to monopolise the thoughts of boys. The problem then of reducing the absorption in games is the problem of finding and providing other absorbing interests. We cannot, fortunately, always have the counter-irritant of war. Where we fail now, is that the intellectual training of a boy does not interest him enough in most cases to give him subjects of conversation out of school. We give some few new interests by means of societies, literary, antiquarian or ...

— Cambridge Essays on Education • Various

... antiquity. It consisted in introducing a large ring, either of gold, silver, or iron, through an opening made into the prepuce, the free ends being then welded together. Females were treated likewise, the ring including both labia. In some countries an agglutination of the parts induced by some irritant or a cutting instrument answered the purpose among females. Dunglison mentions that the prepuce was first drawn over the glans, and then that the ring transfixed the prepuce in that position; that the ancients so muzzled the gladiators to prevent ...

— History of Circumcision from the Earliest Times to the Present - Moral and Physical Reasons for its Performance • Peter Charles Remondino

... he said gravely; "I'd like to make you a present of these cardamom seeds. They do say they're the best thing goin' for the temper; kind o' counter-irritant, y' know; ...

— The Wooing of Calvin Parks • Laura E. Richards

... struggle for existence is, and what it means to suffer for his opinions. His weakest point seems to be a tendency to exaggeration which provokes distrust; but, despite this, he has been a potent force as an irritant in drawing attention to the needs of the working-classes, and so in promoting that steady uplifting of their condition and prospects which is one of the most striking achievements ...

— Autobiography of Andrew Dickson White Volume II • Andrew Dickson White

... P. Sybarite comprehended in a glance and, comprehending, bristled like a truculent game-cock or the faithful hound in the ghost-story. The aspect of Respectability seemed to have upon him the effect of a violent irritant; his eyes took on a hot, hard look, his lips narrowed to a thin, inflexible crease, and ...

— The Day of Days - An Extravaganza • Louis Joseph Vance

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