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
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There’s nothing more irritating than looking in the bathroom mirror only to notice that the beautiful design of your necklace is actually on the backside of your neck, while the clasp is sitting front and center.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
17 Aug. 2025
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Born from the founder’s personal battle with eczema, the brand is a breath of fresh air in a world full of irritating, complicated formulas.—
Allure,
Allure,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The sheer amount of toilet humor — there’s a lot of mucus, snot, and jokes about people drinking piss stuffed into one film — often proves more annoying than fun.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
22 Aug. 2025
-
For a good portion of the audience, Metal Gear Solid Delta will hit all the right notes by being a nice jaunt down memory lane to a time when these ideas and systems were innovative rather than annoying.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But the most frustrating point among them is the argument shared by several critics and a wider collection of the audience that the film doesn’t have a deeper meaning and is ultimately about nothing.—
Richard Newby,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Aug. 2025
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With airport handlers worldwide managing 26 million bags each year, few travel inconveniences are more frustrating than arriving without your luggage.—
Kristine Hansen,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Not sure what’s funnier and more disturbing, Sweet Tooth’s urine test coming back as a black goo, or Axel not allowing a blood sample, presumably because his blood is gasoline.—
Rafael Motamayor,
Vulture,
14 Aug. 2025
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In the spring, Linda appeared in a disturbing social media video lifting the lid on the dysfunction in the family.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rebarbative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebarbative. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
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