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Irascible Has an Angry History
If you try to take apart irascible on the model of irrational, irresistible, and irresponsible you might find yourself wondering what ascible means—but that's not how irascible came to be. The key to the meaning of irascible isn't the negating prefix ir- (which is the form of the prefix in- that is used before words beginning with "r"), but rather the Latin noun ira, meaning "anger." From ira, which is also the root of irate and ire, came the Latin verb irasci ("to become angry") and the related adjective irascibilis, the latter of which led to the French word irascible. English speakers borrowed the word from French in the 16th century.
Synonyms
Examples of irascible in a Sentence
Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 June 2024
Others have been even more explicit in their definition of Trump’s goal for the event, which is to downplay the irascible and explosive leader that Biden describes.
—Marianne Levine, Washington Post, 24 June 2024
Increasingly irascible and fading fast, Leonard insists that Emma be present throughout, as if confessing the falsehoods and failings of his life to her is the most important part of the exercise.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
The irascible David, 76, in Boston for a live performance this week, got up and left with a few minutes to go, before Hurley did empty his bench.
—Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for irascible 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'irascible.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Irascible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irascible. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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