💥 Causing blisters 💥 A blister agent

vesicant

9.9

Causes blisters on the skin and inside the mouth or nose

adjective
/ˈvɛsɪkənt/

Specialized

: vesicante

Exposure to the vesicant chemical resulted in painful blisters on the worker's skin.

Examples

The dermatologist explained that contact with the vesicant plant could cause severe skin reactions.
The vesicant properties of mustard gas are well documented.
Certain mustard gases are known to act as vesicant agents during chemical warfare.
In chemistry class, we learned about vesicant agents.
Certain mustard gases are classified as vesicant agents due to their ability to cause blisters.
The firefighter warned that exposure to the vesicant chemical can lead to serious skin damage.
After working with chemicals in the lab, she developed blisters because of the vesicant substance.

Synonyms

vesicatory

vsvesicant

Specialized

9.9

Causing blisters on the skin

includes blisters on mucous membranes as well as on skin

How Irritating

caustic

Specialized

8.3

vesicant

Specialized

9.9

rubefacient

Specialized

9.9

counterirritant

Specialized

8.6

emollient

Specialized

1 7.5

Surface Forms

vesicant positive

Morphology

vesicant = vesicate (opaque) = vesic + ant

Formed from the rare medical verb 'vesicate' + productive suffix '-ant', but 'vesicate' and the combining form 'vesic-' are specialist and unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Vesicant comes from the Latin word vesica meaning 'blister' or 'small bladder', and it is the same root as vesicle. So a vesicant (adjective) describes something that makes blisters on the skin or inside the body.