barbed

[ bahrbd ]

/ bɑrbd /

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See synonyms for barbed on Thesaurus.com

adjective

having barbs.

calculated to wound; cutting: a professor noted for his barbed criticisms.

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of barbed

First recorded in 1520–30; barb¹ + -ed³

Words nearby barbed

barbe, barbecue, barbecue pit, barbecue sauce, barbecue stopper, barbed, barbed tributary, barbed wire, barbed-wire grass, barbel, barbell

How to use barbed in a sentence

I could see the border, covered with barbed wire, fences and surveillance cameras.
Locked up in the Land of Liberty: Part I|Yariel Valdés González|July 7, 2021|Washington Blade
There was no barbed wire around Yozgad, nor did there need to be.
How Two WWI POWs Conned Their Way Out With a Ouija Board|Margalit Fox|May 31, 2021|The Daily Beast
A barbed tail juts out of its backside, making up about 70 percent of its length.
A spiky flea could ruin Midwestern ecosystems and kill native fish|By Abi Cole/Outdoor Life|February 17, 2021|Popular-Science
Some of the highways that run through the capital were blocked by military trucks and barbed-wire barricades.
In Myanmar coup, Suu Kyi’s ouster heralds return to military rule|Shibani Mahtani, Timothy McLaughlin|February 1, 2021|Washington Post

Bumblebees have a painful sting and, unlike the honeybee, with its barbed stinger, the sharp, smooth bumblebee stinger can sting multiple times.
We Crush, Poison, and Destroy Insects at Our Own Peril - Issue 95: Escape|John Hainze|January 20, 2021|Nautilus
So perhaps the barbed wire and the machinations of the plot did duty for other obstacles that stood between myself and freedom.
The Stacks: How The Berlin Wall Inspired John le Carré’s First Masterpiece|John le Carré|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Click here to see a photo of Galbraith and Fairchild posing in front of barbed wire that marked off mines in the zone.
Morgan Fairchild: Badass Foreign Policy Wonk|Asawin Suebsaeng|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Two parallel fences tipped with barbed wire formed a narrow corridor into the gymnasium.
The GOP’s Last Identity Crisis Remade U.S. Politics|Michael Wolraich|July 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fences built ten-feet high with fifteen rows of electrified barbed wire surrounded the compound.
Pablo Escobar’s Private Prison Is Now Run by Monks for Senior Citizens|Jeff Campagna|June 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Even after she left its barbed bosom, it did its best to further excommunicate and sideline her.
If Kate Middleton’s Butt Could Speak: It’s Time Royal Princesses Led Visible, Voluble Public Lives|Tim Teeman|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It should be fixed in the head by means of a thin, barbed iron wedge.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
It was by paying attention to such little things that the Cave-men learned to make barbed spears.
The Later Cave-Men|Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
Careless idle words, spoken jestingly, but every one of which went home like a barbed arrow to the mother's heart.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3)|Charles James Wills
He would drive it into them like a barbed arrow—that never afterwards in all their lives would they be rid of.
Love's Pilgrimage|Upton Sinclair
Even at that time I saw that some of the arrows were British, but more of some outland make with cruelly barbed heads.
A Prince of Cornwall|Charles W. Whistler

barbed

Origin of barbed

Words nearby barbed

Words related to barbed

How to use barbed in a sentence