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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.
Examples of irascible in a Sentence
Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
As embodied by John Lithgow, Dahl is incisive, avuncular, irascible, acerbic, and always entertaining.
—Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 31 May 2026
Rick’s bandmates, all around the same age, vary from affable to irascible; the sweetest of them is McDonald’s Sandy, who lives with his mum and seems to look up to Rick as a guy who’s surely got it together.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 May 2026
The coach of the team, Tarrant, an irascible, former Marine, allowed outsiders to come watch practice.
—Joe Vardon, New York Times, 11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for irascible
Cite this Entry
“Irascible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irascible. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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