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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.
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Examples of irascible in a Sentence
Michael Peregrine, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Even the typically irascible Joy Behar was comparatively tame while expressing her dissatisfaction.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2024
Lewis could be briefly irascible, but his kindness almost always triumphed.
—Christopher Carroll, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
The strategy of rebalancing toward Asia thus makes sense but risks creating expectations that Washington will not be able to meet while feeding Chinese suspicions, which could lead to a far more irascible U.S.-Chinese relationship.
—Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2012
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Cite this Entry
“Irascible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irascible. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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