irritant
n.a substance that causes a red, itchy, or painful reaction on your skin or in your eyes. It can also be a person or thing that makes you feel annoyed or angry.
n.a substance that causes inflammation or a physical reaction when it comes into contact with living tissue. In a figurative sense, it refers to a person or situation that causes annoyance or frustration.
“The chemical is a common skin irritant that causes rashes.”
“The doctor warned that the new laundry detergent contains a powerful irritant that might affect sensitive skin.”
“While the physical irritant was easily removed, the psychological impact of the constant noise from the construction site lingered for weeks.”
“Despite alcohol not being a major export to Canada, the banning of booze sales by every province except Alberta and Saskatchewan has been a major irritant for the Americans.”
“Image caption, US trade representative Jamieson Greer (right) said the deal eliminates several trade irritants that the Americans had with Canada.”
From French irritant, equivalent to irritate + -ant.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.