Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Causing sneezing: Describes a substance or agent that induces or provokes the act of sneezing.
   • Tending to cause sneezing: Characterizes something with the inherent property of stimulating sneezing.

2. Noun:

   • A chemical substance that causes sneezing, coughing, and crying: Refers to an irritant agent, often used in contexts like riot control, designed to produce these involuntary physiological reactions.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Pepper is a sternutatory substance. (Pepper contains compounds that can trigger sneezing.)
  • The dust in the old attic had a sternutatory effect on her. (The dust caused her to sneeze repeatedly.)

• Noun:

  • Police deployed a sternutatory to disperse the crowd. (Police used a chemical agent to cause sneezing and subdue the crowd.)
  • Some historical remedies contained sternutatories to clear nasal passages. (Some old medicines included sneezing-inducing ingredients.)

Advanced Usage

• Technical/Medical Context: Used in pharmacology or toxicology to describe agents that irritate the nasal mucosa.
  • The study focused on the sternutatory properties of various organic compounds.
• Historical Context: Refers to substances like snuff, once used for medicinal or recreational purposes to induce sneezing.
  • In the 18th century, sternutatories were common in some medical practices.

Variants and Related Words

• Sternutative (adjective): A less common variant with the same meaning as the adjective form of 'sternutatory'.
• Sternutation (noun): The act or process of sneezing.
  • A sudden sternutation interrupted the silent room.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Irritant, sneeze-inducing, sneeze-provoking.
• Noun: Sneezing agent, irritant agent, sternutator.

Notes on Meaning

• The word is highly specific and technical. Its primary use is in scientific, medical, or specialized law enforcement contexts rather than everyday conversation.
• As an adjective, it describes a property. As a noun, it refers to the physical agent or substance itself.

Adjective

1. causing sneezing
   • pepper is a sternutatory substance
2. tending to cause sneezing

Noun

1. a chemical substance that causes sneezing and coughing and crying
   • police used a sternutatory to subdue the mob