rebarbative

[ree-bahr-buh-tiv]

adjective

1. causing annoyance, irritation, or aversion; repellent.

rebarbative

/ rɪˈbɑːbətɪv /

adjective

1. fearsome; forbidding

Word History and Origins

Origin of rebarbative¹

First recorded in 1890–95; from French, feminine of rébarbatif “disagreeable, repugnant,” from Middle French rebarber “to oppose, confront,” literally “to go beard to beard, head to head,” equivalent to ré- re- + barbe “beard,” from Latin barba “beard” ( beard ( def. ) ) + -atif -ative

Word History and Origins

Origin of rebarbative¹

C19: from French rébarbatif , from Old French rebarber to repel (an enemy), to withstand (him) face to face, from _re- + barbe beard, from Latin barba

Example Sentences

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?

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Setting aside Mr Abbott’s notoriously rebarbative character, the appointment would be consistent with the myth, common among Brexit supporters, that trade deals are conjured into being by swaggering personalities.

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“Many of the apparently rebarbative aspects of Sontag’s personality are clarified in light of the alcoholic family system,” he writes.

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“Indeed, many of the apparently rebarbative aspects of Sontag’s personality are clarified in light of the alcoholic family system, as it was later understood,” Moser writes, and he goes on:

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The work itself, the scholars are aware, is innately rebarbative.

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Related Words

• aggravating 
• annoying 
• distressing www.thesaurus.com
• disturbing 
• inconvenient 
• irritating 
• troublesome 
• vexing