1
: having barbs
2
: characterized by pointed and biting criticism or sarcasm
barbed witticisms
Synonyms
Examples of barbed in a Sentence
The candidates exchanged barbed comments during the debate.
barbed satire on American academia
Recent Examples on the Web
The tortoises live in a sheltered habitat ringed by barbed wire and draped in netting.
—
Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2024
Middle Tennessee actor talks near-death experience Flying into a barbed wire fence at 11.
—Rosalind Bowling, The Tennessean, 19 Dec. 2024
About a dozen people, some holding candles, held a vigil late Tuesday to pray outside the prison, which is surrounded by barbed wire fences in a residential area about 60 miles east of Chicago.
—CBS News, 18 Dec. 2024
Residents near a Cold War-era nuclear bomb shelter are wondering what the property's new owners are doing on the other side of the chain-link fence topped by barbed wire.
—Jack Randall, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barbed 
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Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2024
Middle Tennessee actor talks near-death experience Flying into a barbed wire fence at 11.
—Rosalind Bowling, The Tennessean, 19 Dec. 2024
About a dozen people, some holding candles, held a vigil late Tuesday to pray outside the prison, which is surrounded by barbed wire fences in a residential area about 60 miles east of Chicago.
—CBS News, 18 Dec. 2024
Residents near a Cold War-era nuclear bomb shelter are wondering what the property's new owners are doing on the other side of the chain-link fence topped by barbed wire.
—Jack Randall, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barbed
Dictionary Entries Near barbed
Cite this Entry
“Barbed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barbed. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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