May 09 2019 1 mins 30
Rebarbative is an adjective that means causing annoyance or irritation.
The Latin word for beard is barba (BAR buh) which may seem like an odd origin for a word that means ‘causing annoyance or irritation,’ until you consider the journey that our word of the day has taken over the years. Rebarbative is derived from the phrase ‘standing beard to beard,’ which means ‘opposing’ or ‘standing against.’ So you may think of rebarbative behavior as behavior that annoys or irritates someone.
I can’t believe our boss allowed Chuck to get away with such rebarbative behavior. Taking a nap during a staff meeting is the kind of oppositional act that can a person fired at this firm.
