Meanings
adjectivebarbative (comparative more barbative, superlative most barbative)
comparative more barbative · superlative most barbative
- Harshly critical or blunt; sarcastic.
Most of the time he lay among the shadows, left the conversation to his elders. Except for those sudden, uncannily prescient, occasionally barbative, remarks. Uttered quietly but firmly.
2002, Colleen McCullough, The October Horse, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, pages 580–581
Origin
Possibly a blend of barb, in the sense of "a cutting remark" and rebarbative (“repellent, irritating”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
barbative. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbative
MLA
“barbative.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbative. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “barbative,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbative.
Source: barbative on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.