— irritancy , n.
/ir"i tnt/ , adj.
1. tending to cause irritation; irritating.
n.
2. anything that irritates.
3. Physiol. , Pathol. a biological, chemical, or physical agent that stimulates a characteristic function or elicits a response, esp. an inflammatory response.
[ 1630-40; irritant- (s. of irritans ), prp. of irritare to IRRITATE; see -ANT ]