Meanings
comparative more retardant · superlative most retardant
- in compoundsoftenServing to impede (slow down) the action of something
plural retardants
- in compoundsoftenSomething that serves to retard (slow down) the action of something.
It took until last year for mattresses and furniture containing the highly toxic retardant deca-BDE to be banned, under European law, from sale. […] To make matters worse, far from saving us from fires, flame retardants appear to increase the risk.
2020 February 26, George Monbiot, “Toxic sofas are a secret scandal – and an ‘EU red tape’ bonfire will make it worse”, in The Guardian
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchretardant
- Englishretardant
Borrowed from French retardant, equivalent to retard (“to slow down”) + -ant.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian забавящ, спъващ
- забавящ (zabavjašt)Translations
- спъващ (spăvašt)Translations
Swedish hämmare, skyddsmedel
- hämmareTranslations
- skyddsmedelTranslations
Cite this entry
retardant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retardant
“retardant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retardant. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “retardant,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/retardant.
Source: retardant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.