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.
Wikipedia foundation.
rebarbative — (adj.) 1885, from Fr. rébarbatif (14c.), from barbe beard … Etymology dictionary
rebarbative — ► ADJECTIVE formal ▪ unattractive and objectionable. ORIGIN French rébarbatif, from Old French se rebarber face each other beard to beard (i.e. aggressively) … English terms dictionary
rebarbative — [ri bär′bə tiv] adj. [Fr rébarbatif < MFr < (se) rebarber, to resist, earlier to face (the enemy), lit., to face beard to beard < barbe, beard < L barba] repellent, unattractive, forbidding, grim, etc … English World dictionary
rébarbative — ● rébarbatif, rébarbative adjectif (ancien français rebarber, faire face) Se dit d une attitude rude et rebutante ; revêche. Qui manque d attrait, ennuyeux : Un sujet de narration rébarbatif. ● rébarbatif, rébarbative (synonymes) adjectif (ancien … Encyclopédie Universelle
rebarbative — adjective formal very unattractive or offensive: Karajan has been subject to rebarbative questioning and criticism … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
rebarbative — /rəˈbabətɪv/ (say ruh bahbuhtiv) adjective unattractive; fearsome or repellent: *a depressed show run by two rebarbative Europeans, Mordecai Havachat and Habbakuk Chuckablue. –david foster, 1981. {French rébarbatif, from Old French (se)rebarber… …
rebarbative — adjective Etymology: French rébarbatif, from Middle French, from rebarber to be repellent, from re + barbe beard, from Latin barba more at beard Date: 1892 repellent, irritating • rebarbatively adverb … New Collegiate Dictionary
rebarbative — /ree bahr beuh tiv/, adj. causing annoyance, irritation, or aversion; repellent. [1890 95; < F, fem. of rébarbatif, deriv. of rébarber to be unattractive, equiv. to ré RE + barbe beard ( < L barba) + atif ATIVE] * * * … Universalium
rebarbative — Synonyms and related words: abhorrent, abominable, bad, barfy, base, beastly, below contempt, beneath contempt, brackish, cloying, contemptible, crude, despicable, detestable, disgusting, execrable, fetid, forbidding, foul, fulsome, gross,… … Moby Thesaurus
rebarbative — [rɪ bα:bətɪv] adjective formal unattractive and objectionable. Origin C19: from Fr. rébarbatif, ive, from OFr. se rebarber face each other aggressively (lit. beard to beard ), from barbe beard … English new terms dictionary
