rebarbative - definition and meaning - Wordnik He claims that in his crime fiction he tones down his trademark use of obscure words, but he slips "rebarbative" into the essay Fun with the New York Times Tripp 2007 He claims that in his crime fiction he tones down his trademark use of obscure words, but he slips "rebarbative" into the essay Archive 2007-03-01 Tripp 2007 It is puzzling and rebarbative, but once you get into its mindset