as in shouted
to speak sharply or irritably
the new supervisor found that speaking to people with a civil tongue got better results than barking at them
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of barked
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 30 Apr. 2026
Pavia barked back at critics during the Senior Bowl in January regarding his height.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
And while Eason, in particular, barked at the Lakers’ bench after his best game of the postseason, the Lakers seemed confident enough in their defense’s ability to turn a couple of those faucets off.
—Dan Woike, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
With his back against the wall sooner than anyone in the NBA expected, the first-year coach barked back at the notion that Jokic, Murray and the Nuggets don’t want this enough.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026
Two soldiers, hands in the air, surrendering and carefully following the orders barked at them by the other side.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 20 Apr. 2026
Counting every hour, every day until— Somewhere beyond the bar, a dog barked.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Apr. 2026
Then Growler, a black labrador, barked.
—Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
His dog woke him up, pushed his arm and barked at him to alert him to the fire, Wright said.
—John Autey, Twin Cities, 21 Mar. 2026
Verb
That came after he was pulled in Game 4 and barked at his bench before heading down the tunnel.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 30 Apr. 2026
Pavia barked back at critics during the Senior Bowl in January regarding his height.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 28 Apr. 2026
And while Eason, in particular, barked at the Lakers’ bench after his best game of the postseason, the Lakers seemed confident enough in their defense’s ability to turn a couple of those faucets off.
—Dan Woike, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
With his back against the wall sooner than anyone in the NBA expected, the first-year coach barked back at the notion that Jokic, Murray and the Nuggets don’t want this enough.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026
Two soldiers, hands in the air, surrendering and carefully following the orders barked at them by the other side.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 20 Apr. 2026
Counting every hour, every day until— Somewhere beyond the bar, a dog barked.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Apr. 2026
Then Growler, a black labrador, barked.
—Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
His dog woke him up, pushed his arm and barked at him to alert him to the fire, Wright said.
—John Autey, Twin Cities, 21 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barked. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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