irritability

Ir`ri*ta*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. irritabilitas: cf. F. irritabilité.] 1. The state or quality of being irritable; quick excitability; petulance; fretfulness; as, irritability of temper. 2. (Physiol.) Defn: A natural susceptibility, characteristic of all living organisms, tissues, and cells, to the influence of certain stimuli, response being manifested in a variety of ways, -- as that quality in plants by which they exhibit motion under suitable stimulation; esp., the property which living muscle processes, of responding either to a direct stimulus of its substance, or to the stimulating influence of its nerve fibers, the response being indicated by a change of form, or contraction; contractility. 3. (Med.) Defn: A condition of morbid excitability of an organ or part of the body; undue susceptibility to the influence of stimuli. See Irritation, n., 3.

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