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
-
People will likely find this irritating and exasperating, but the friction created will be worth the outcome, consisting of hopefully preventing people from being lulled into thinking the AI is divine.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
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If certain emulsifiers are especially gentle on the gut, the food industry could use them to replace the ones that might be more irritating.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
Something that’s annoying, inefficient, or consistently painful.—
Darpan Munjal,
Forbes.com,
27 July 2025
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The car inches along, slowly filling the air with the hope of a different future, carried on tiny — albeit annoying — wings.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
26 July 2025
Adjective
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Any company found to be frustrating the cancellation process could face significant fines—perhaps more than $50,000 per violation.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
31 July 2025
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According to the survey, 58% of Texas Rangers fans have left games early due to frustrating wait times, good for third among all 30 MLB fan bases.—
Alyssa Cooper,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 July 2025
Adjective
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This is a disturbing statistic and speaks to an increase in the total number of people defacing themselves, but also a rise in the amount of ink per person.—
Scott Liftman,
Boston Herald,
25 July 2025
-
The board of the Regional Transportation Authority met Friday to discuss ways to respond to the cut, striking a note of optimism to counter the disturbing prediction for Tri-Rail’s future.—
Rafael Olmeda,
Sun Sentinel,
25 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rebarbative.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rebarbative. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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