Standard Lemma guide

rebarbative

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: rĭbärʹbətĭv
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈbɑːbətɪv/
  • General-American: rĭbärʹbətĭv
  • General-American: /ɹɪˈbɑɹbətɪv/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Irritating, repellent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 2009 August 31, Nicholas Lezard, Down and out in London (column), New Statesman, page 54, I know there are few things more rebarbative than parents who insist, usually against all the evidence, that their children are the bees’ knees, but something seems to have turned out fine.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

serving or tending to repel

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he became rebarbative and prickly and spiteful
  • I find his obsequiousness repellent

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: repellent, repellant

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From French rébarbatif, rébarbative (“repellent, disagreeable”), from Middle French rebarber (“to oppose”), ultimately from Latin barba (“beard”), literally “to stand beard to beard against”.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: отблъскващ (otblǎskvašt) — repellent
  • Bulgarian: противен (protiven) — repellent
  • Czech: odpudivý — repellent
  • Czech: odporný — repellent
  • Dutch: weerzinwekkend — repellent
  • Finnish: luotaantyöntävä — repellent
  • German: abstoßend — repellent
  • Russian: отта́лкивающий (ottálkivajuščij) — repellent