barbaric

adjective

bar·​bar·​ic bär-ˈber-ik How to pronounce barbaric (audio)
-ˈba-rik
1
a
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a group of people who are alien to another land, culture, or people and who are usually believed to be inferior : of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians
b
: possessing or characteristic of a cultural level more complex than primitive (see primitive entry 1 sense 2c) culture but less sophisticated than advanced civilization (see civilization sense 1a)
2
a
: marked by a lack of restraint : wild
a barbaric use of color
b
: having a bizarre, primitive, or unsophisticated quality
… I sound my barbaric yawp …Walt Whitman
the tangled, loose barbaric magnificence of the Elizabethan dramaThink
3
: barbarous sense 3
barbaric crimes
barbarically adverb

Examples of barbaric in a Sentence

Barbaric tribes invaded the area. His table manners are barbaric. They considered the custom barbaric. The treatment of the prisoners was positively barbaric.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Very few directors working today can put across a movie like Gladiator II as convincingly, which perhaps explains why the sequel — for all its barbaric violence and the plaintive, at times stirring, discussions about justice and democracy — doesn’t have the mournful quality that the first film did. Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024 Sudanese who took the same route with other smugglers say they were subjected to barbaric conditions on the journey. Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Oct. 2024 The two-and-a-half-hour film follows two Black teenagers who become wards of a barbaric juvenile reformatory in Jim Crow-era Florida. Anna Tingley, Variety, 28 Sep. 2024 The baseless claims have been described as racist because of the implication that Haitian immigrants, most of whom are Black, have barbaric practices or are incapable of living peacefully among white neighbors. David Ingram, NBC News, 10 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for barbaric 

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of barbaric was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near barbaric

Cite this Entry

“Barbaric.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barbaric. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

barbaric

adjective
bar·​bar·​ic bär-ˈbar-ik How to pronounce barbaric (audio)
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians
2

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