BARBED Synonyms: 89 Similar and Opposite Words

barbed

adjective

ˈbärbd

Definition of barbed

as in satiric

marked by the use of wit that is intended to cause hurt feelings barbed satire on American academia

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of barbed Another drone created a smoke screen while still more blasted through triple-layered barbed wire. — Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2026 The train station hulked behind barbed wire, abandoned for years, both witness to and eight million bricks’ worth of evidence of Detroit's near-collapse. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 July 2026 After a decree by the Volkskammer, East German soldiers began installing a barbed wire barrier through Berlin. — USA Today, 28 July 2026 Though barbed wire and sandbags protected against physical intrusion, the real threat came from within. — Literary Hub, 28 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for barbed

Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbed

Adjective

Binface, who was first to declare and already a running joke in British elections, drew the most attention because of his satirical spin on politics and persona as a space alien from the planet Sigma IX.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Outlandish costumes Binface is just one in a long line of satirical candidates dating back more than six decades, who have become a unique staple of British elections.

— Reagan Yip, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of satiric

Adjective

Meanwhile, Rogen and Nanjiani manage to steal multiple scenes as the voices of the ladies’ cats Dio and GG, two sarcastic felines who are fed up with their burnout owners.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 12 Aug. 2026
This was Perez Hilton, after all, a man who had earned fame in the mid-two-thousands for his salacious, sarcastic, and often sadistic coverage of celebrity suffering.

— Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of sarcastic

Adjective

The pacing is more frenetic, the narration more biting, the flashbacks more jarring, and the comedowns much harsher.

— Hannah Giorgis Yohannes, Vanity Fair, 13 July 2026
Described as a biting political thriller in the tradition of Wild in the Streets and V for Vendetta, The Hunted is set in a dystopian America where trans people are brutalized and erased to the margins of society.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 20 June 2026

Definition of biting

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barbecues

barbed

barber

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“Barbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbed. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of barbed

adjective

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