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irrigant

irrigant

1 6.9
A liquid used to wash and clean wounds, inside the body, or soil
  • noun
  • /ˈɪrɪɡənt/
  • Specialized
: irrigante
  • The doctor used a gentle irrigant to clean the wound and promote healing.

Examples

  • We believe that nasal saline spray, as a placebo, is probably adequate for research purposes, but it does provide some actual clinical benefit as an irrigant in some patients.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Farmers often apply a nutrient-rich irrigant to enhance soil fertility during the growing season.

  • During the procedure, an antiseptic irrigant was used to wash out the surgical site.

How Cleansing

disinfectant
18 3.1
antiseptic
  • Specialized
9 3.7
irrigant
  • Specialized
1 6.9
saline solution
  • Specialized
6 3.3
water
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

irrigant singular
irrigants plural

Morphology

irrigant = irrigate (transparent) = irrigate + ant

Formed from the verb 'irrigate' with the adjectival/agentive suffix '-ant' meaning 'providing or used for irrigating', which is directly inferable from 'irrigate'.

Etymology

The word irrigant comes from the Latin irrigare, which means 'to water', and it shares the same root as irrigate and irrigation. Think of a gentle stream or a syringe 'watering' a wound or soil, so an irrigant is a liquid used to wash or water to clean or feed.