Bitterants

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Substances added to products such as household chemicals to make them taste unpleasantly bitter and deter accidental swallowing
2. Additives that give a bitter flavor to a product, often used to discourage children or pets from ingesting it
3. Compounds mixed into items like cleaning fluids or medicines so that they taste extremely bitter as a safety measure

Etymology: "Bitterants" is simply the plural of "bitterant," so it inherits everything about its singular form. A bitterant is a substance added to something, usually a product that might be swallowed by accident, to make it taste unpleasantly bitter. The aim is deterrence: a child or a pet that tastes a bottle of cleaning fluid or a tube of medicine is less likely to swallow more. The plural simply refers to more than one such agent, as when a manufacturer lists several in a single formula.