barbarism

noun

bar·​ba·​rism ˈbär-bə-ˌri-zəm 

1

a

: a barbarian or barbarous social or intellectual condition : backwardness

b

: the practice or display of barbarian acts, attitudes, or ideas

2

: an idea, act, or expression that in form or use offends against contemporary standards of good taste or acceptability

Examples of barbarism in a Sentence

The barbarism of his dictatorship cannot be ignored.

Such barbarisms cannot be tolerated.

Recent Examples on the Web

As neo-colonial dynamics among the expatriate community unravel, this fragile bond becomes his only refuge from an impending collapse into solitude or barbarism. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 22 May 2025

The journalists traveled to Haiti to show the grim extent of the devastation and barbarism wrought by the gang warfare that has sown chaos in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. —Katie Robertson, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025

The cruelty and barbarism of this action shockingly overturns the purpose of USAID, which is to gain international support and influence for the U.S. in developing countries. —Chicago Tribune, 7 Feb. 2025

Wars, miseries, climate change, misogyny — our barbarism’s demons give us no respite. —Rachel Handler, Vulture, 13 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

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

Rhymes for barbarism

• autism
• fascism
• racism
• sikhism
• statism
• sufism
• thomism
• tourism
• tropism
• abolitionism
• aldosteronism
• americanism

Kids Definition

barbarism

noun

bar·​ba·​rism ˈbär-bə-ˌriz-əm 

: the state, ideas, or behavior of a barbarian