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.
an irascible old football coach
He has an irascible disposition.
Recent Examples on the WebWhen Franklin Delano Roosevelt sent his irascible right-hand man, Harry Hopkins, to London, the Churchills launched a charm offensive in which Pamela was front and center.—Margaret Talbot, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024 By the mid-1990s, Mugabe had become an irascible dictator, brooking no opposition, contemptuous of the law and human rights, and indifferent to the incompetence and corruption around him.—Martin Meredith, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2018 Kurosawa hadn’t intended for an insane explosion of blood to spout from Muroto’s torso, especially not at the end of what had been a largely bloodless drunken-master-style farce in which a rascally, irascible ronin helps a litter of samurai puppies get their act together.—Vikram Murthi, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2024 Goldwater was an attractive, ruggedly Western, occasionally irascible, widely unknown senator from Arizona.—Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 9 July 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.
Word History
Etymology
Middle French, from Late Latin irascibilis, from Latin irasci to become angry, be angry, from ira
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