Definition of IRASCIBLE

Irascible Has an Angry History

If you try to take apart "irascible" in the same manner as "irrational," "irresistible," or "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 negative prefix ir- (which is used before words that begin with "r"), but 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"), which led to French irascible. English speakers borrowed the word from French in the 16th century.

Examples of irascible in a Sentence

an irascible old football coach He has an irascible disposition.

Recent Examples on the Web Fans of the show remember Tarantina as Jackie, the irascible emcee at the Gaslight comedy club. — Washington Post, "Why did Brian Tarantina get so many shout-outs at the SAG Awards? He was a truly great character actor.," 23 Jan. 2020 And that’s easily the most plausible bit in the entire book, which is otherwise packed with Lafferty’s typically irascible comic genius. — Scott Bradfield, The New Republic, "Science Fiction’s Wonderful Mistakes," 16 Dec. 2019 Spall’s Turner is irascible and uncommunicative, seemingly a thundercloud charged with negativity. — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, "The 10 Best Movie Performances of the 2010s," 14 Nov. 2019 Everyone who knew Robin loved her as amazing, beautiful, talented, deliciously eccentric, funny, smart, passionate, irascible and loving. — sun-sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 9/19," 19 Sep. 2019 Like many of the NBC executives in Burbank, Mr. Ludwin preferred the easygoing Leno to the irascible Letterman. — BostonGlobe.com, "NEW YORK — Rick Ludwin, who oversaw late-night programming at NBC for many years but is probably best known for backing the sitcom “Seinfeld” when it seemed the network might drop it before the show started its storied run, died on Sunday at a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 71.," 14 Nov. 2019 That perspective weaves into a celebration of Kitson’s quirkily irascible persona, creating a two-hour monologue that’s part rant, part existential musing, part deconstruction of a 50-drawer, library-style card catalogue. — Celia Wren, Washington Post, "Comedian Daniel Kitson rants about the joy — and tyranny — of stuff," 24 Nov. 2019 Familial conflict leads to romance for Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire) and Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) after Adrian’s irascible older brother, Paulie (Burt Young), tosses the turkey she’s been cooking for Thanksgiving out the back door. — Cady Lang, Time, "The 15 Best Thanksgiving Movies to Watch This Holiday Season," 22 Nov. 2019 Bolton was ousted last week, ending a stormy tenure marked by widening rifts between an unorthodox president seeking a foreign policy victory and an irascible foreign policy hawk who had been deeply skeptical of much of the president's agenda. — John Wagner, John Hudson, Anchorage Daily News, "Trump taps hostage negotiator to replace John Bolton as national security adviser," 18 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'irascible.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.