: a precipitating agent
especially
: one that causes the formation of a precipitate
Examples of precipitant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Milad Haghani, CNN Money, 6 June 2025
But this appeal is a pretext, not a precipitant, for the war Hamas has launched.
—Matthew Levitt, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2023
With purging, this process is accelerated and there is usually a precipitant such as a new product or treatment.
—Twiggy Jalloh, Vogue, 30 June 2024
Shubhangi Dua 18 days ago 0 Science Eggshell can help recover rare earth elements, make process sustainable
The study shows that at higher temperatures, eggshell calcite also has the potential to be used as a precipitant.
—Interesting Engineering, 23 June 2024
In an essay in the Times, Clare Frank, a former chief of fire protection in California, cites pyrotechnics at a gender-reveal party, the smoking out of wasp nests, and campers who decided to burn their excrement as precipitants of recent wildfires.
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 25 June 2023
For young adults, loneliness and social isolation are major precipitants of suicide, experts say.
—New York Times, 25 June 2018
According to the most recent CDC report, loss of children and relationships is a leading precipitant to suicide.
—April Foreman, Fortune, 21 June 2018
The narrator, a reporter, and two of his newspaper colleagues share their research on suicide: social and psychological precipitants; variations in incidence by season and country; philosophical and religious arguments for and against; and so on.
—Benjamin Kunkel, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2017
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Noun
Alcohol use and nicotine withdrawal Alcohol is a dominant precipitant of air rage incidents.
—Milad Haghani, CNN Money, 6 June 2025
But this appeal is a pretext, not a precipitant, for the war Hamas has launched.
—Matthew Levitt, Foreign Affairs, 11 Oct. 2023
With purging, this process is accelerated and there is usually a precipitant such as a new product or treatment.
—Twiggy Jalloh, Vogue, 30 June 2024
Shubhangi Dua 18 days ago 0 Science Eggshell can help recover rare earth elements, make process sustainable
The study shows that at higher temperatures, eggshell calcite also has the potential to be used as a precipitant.
—Interesting Engineering, 23 June 2024
In an essay in the Times, Clare Frank, a former chief of fire protection in California, cites pyrotechnics at a gender-reveal party, the smoking out of wasp nests, and campers who decided to burn their excrement as precipitants of recent wildfires.
—Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 25 June 2023
For young adults, loneliness and social isolation are major precipitants of suicide, experts say.
—New York Times, 25 June 2018
According to the most recent CDC report, loss of children and relationships is a leading precipitant to suicide.
—April Foreman, Fortune, 21 June 2018
The narrator, a reporter, and two of his newspaper colleagues share their research on suicide: social and psychological precipitants; variations in incidence by season and country; philosophical and religious arguments for and against; and so on.
—Benjamin Kunkel, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Precipitant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precipitant. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
precipitant
noun
pre·cip·i·tant
pri-ˈsip-ət-ənt 
: something that precipitates
especially
: a chemical agent that causes the formation of a precipitate
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