Bitterant

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A substance added to a product, such as a household chemical, to make it taste unpleasantly bitter and discourage swallowing
2. An additive whose purpose is to give a harmful or unappealing item a bitter flavor so that people and children will not ingest it
3. Any compound mixed into a consumable or hazardous product to impart a deliberately bitter taste as a deterrent

Etymology: Bitter and bite are close relatives. Both come from a Germanic root meaning "to bite," so the word for a sharp taste began as a description of something that bites the tongue. Old English already had "biter," and the same root gave the verb "bite." "Bitterant" is a modern formation: the adjective "bitter" plus the agent suffix "-ant," which reaches English through French from Latin "-ans" and marks a thing that performs an action, as in "deterrent." It names a substance added to something that should not be swallowed, so the bad taste does the work of discouraging ingestion. Denatured alcohol, antifreeze and some household cleaners are dosed with bitter compounds so that people are put off drinking them.

Synonyms: bittering agent

Antonyms: sweetener