barbed
/'bɑ:bd/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Having sharp points or projections: Describes something that is equipped with or covered in barbs, spines, thorns, or similar sharp, often backward-pointing, protrusions.
- Intended to hurt or criticize; cutting: Describes a remark, comment, or tone that is sharp, critical, and designed to wound emotionally or intellectually.
Usage and Examples
Adjective (Physical Sharpness):
- The fence was made of barbed wire to keep the livestock from wandering.
- He carefully avoided the barbed branches of the blackberry bush.
Adjective (Critical Remark):
- Her barbed comment about his work left him feeling insulted.
- The review was filled with barbed wit, amusing readers but stinging its subject.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- "Barbed" in a metaphorical sense often implies a deliberate intent to cause a sharp, stinging effect, similar to a physical barb that is difficult to remove.
- Their conversation was a series of barbed exchanges, each trying to outdo the other in sarcasm.
Variants and Related Words
- Barb (noun): The sharp projection itself, such as on a fishhook, arrow, or feather; also, a critical remark.
- The hook's barb made it hard to remove from the fish's mouth.
- Barbed wire (noun phrase): A type of fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points at intervals.
- The perimeter was secured with barbed wire.
Synonyms
- Spiny, prickly, thorny (for the physical sense).
- Cutting, biting, caustic, acerbic, sarcastic, pungent (for the critical sense).
Antonyms
- Smooth, blunt (for the physical sense).
- Kind, complimentary, gentle, mild (for the critical sense).
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Barbed wire: As a compound noun, this is the most common collocation.
- The prison yard was surrounded by a high fence topped with barbed wire.
- Barbed remark/compliment: A standard phrasing for a critical or backhanded comment.
- He paid her a barbed compliment, saying her presentation was "surprisingly coherent."
Adjective
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having or covered with protective barbs or quills or spines or thorns or setae etc.
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a horse with a short bristly mane
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bristly shrubs
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burred fruits
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setaceous whiskers
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capable of wounding
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a barbed compliment
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a biting aphorism
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pungent satire
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