as in irritating
causing annoyance
there are aspects of that writer's personality that any reasonable person would regard as rebarbative, but we're just reading his novels—not marrying him
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Recent Examples of rebarbative
Why not place a bet on Tala Madani, whose desultory drawing and wildly rebarbative conceits might have the impact at the Met that artists like Matisse once had in Paris?
—
Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
One wonders why a skinny, rebarbative marionette should be getting so much attention.
—Joan Acocella, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022
But Krugman can also sound like a cross between a bloodthirsty Robespierre and a rebarbative GIF.
—Sebastian Mallaby, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2020
Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 27 Apr. 2023
One wonders why a skinny, rebarbative marionette should be getting so much attention.
—Joan Acocella, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022
But Krugman can also sound like a cross between a bloodthirsty Robespierre and a rebarbative GIF.
—Sebastian Mallaby, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rebarbative
Adjective
-
Surprisingly no one in my family finds this irritating.—
Sherry Kuehl,
Kansas City Star,
19 Feb. 2025
-
In layman's terms, retinal works faster and is less irritating than retinol.—
Sarah Han,
Allure,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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But unexpected allies and converts to the team’s cause appear, too: passengers awaiting a flight to Kabul, an American technology reporter, maybe even that annoying bakery owner.—
Lisa Kennedy,
Variety,
7 Mar. 2025
-
The second week My usual redness around my cheeks had started to fade, and the annoying pimple that had been brewing on my cheek seemed to back off without its usual dramatic entrance.—
Larry Stansbury,
Essence,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
What’s especially frustrating to people involved in ferret conservation is that funding and staff resources were already limited heading into 2025.—
Benji Jones,
Vox,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Most welcomed this move, even if the timing was frustrating.—
Louis Staples,
Rolling Stone,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
These findings should be deeply disturbing to Western policymakers, for at least two reasons.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
-
The fact that adult writers are spending their time dissecting my face, my body, my choices is disturbing.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
3 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rebarbative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebarbative. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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