MEANING
1. Having sharp backward-pointing projections, or deliberately cutting and hurtful in speech.
2. Deliberately sharp or hurtful in tone, especially of a comment, joke, or compliment.
Use it for
Describe sharp projections or words that wound through pointed criticism.Use a physical barrier or a cutting remark to add menace or interpersonal tension.
Words that belong together
- barbed wire
- barbed hook
- barbed remark
- barbed joke
- barbed compliment
On the page
The barbed wire sagged between the orchard and the disused road.
Her barbed reply made the dinner guests study their plates.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- barbed
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Usage notes
The physical sense describes a barb or sharp projection; the figurative sense describes a remark designed to sting. Sense 2: Figurative barbed describes language intended to sting; it does not merely mean clever or direct.
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