1
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
a barbaric dictator who tortured his own people with no qualms
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barbarian
not civilized
the barbaric forebears of modern mankind
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of barbaric
The most criminal and barbaric ‘migrant horde’ to invade America was from Europe.
—
Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 19 Mar. 2025
Is the 'barbaric' method making a comeback?
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2025
The German occupiers, however, acted with barbaric brutality, exterminating local Jewish populations and starving to death approximately two million Soviet prisoners of war by March 1942.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
If Russia instead suffers economically, the invasion will be seen as a self-defeating, barbaric blunder.
—Andrew Kosenko, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbaric
Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 19 Mar. 2025
Is the 'barbaric' method making a comeback?
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2025
The German occupiers, however, acted with barbaric brutality, exterminating local Jewish populations and starving to death approximately two million Soviet prisoners of war by March 1942.
—Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
If Russia instead suffers economically, the invasion will be seen as a self-defeating, barbaric blunder.
—Andrew Kosenko, Foreign Affairs, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbaric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbaric
Adjective
-
This high school student completed a brutal swim across New Zealand's 13.67-mile Cook Strait 02:16 CNN — Maya Merhige eventually stopped counting her jellyfish stings, such was the frequency with which they were getting scorched against her skin.—
George Ramsay,
CNN Money,
30 Apr. 2025
-
Domestic overcapacity and brutal internal competition have already pushed Chinese firms to expand abroad in search of profit margins.—
Zongyuan Zoe Liu,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
In contrast, East Asia witnessed a 300-year period of peace between the 1590s and 1894, broken only by defensive engagements against barbarian incursions and five fairly small two-state wars.—
Michael Mann,
Foreign Affairs,
13 Feb. 2012
-
Based on the best-selling comic book series, the fantasy follows barbarian huntress Red Sonja, who must unite a group of unlikely warriors to face off against the evil tyrant Emperor Draygan and his deadly bride, Dark Annisia.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
This dynamic has created a cruel catch-22 which forces an impossible choice: register and risk immediate deportation, or refuse and become criminalized for noncompliance, destroying any path to legal status.—
Kica Matos,
Time,
2 May 2025
-
Milano’s extensive medical history sometimes feels too cruel to detail; his only full season came as a rookie in 2017.—
Tim Graham,
New York Times,
2 May 2025
Adjective
-
There is something shocking, almost rude, about comparing the aims of wardens and guards to those of curators and artists, but McKenzie has her reasons.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
Denver Post,
28 Apr. 2025
-
But the 37-year-old doesn’t always see eye to eye with fans, at least not those who frequently heckle him, and Pham’s reaction is too often rude, crude and lewd.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
-
As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
-
His father, the lawyer and judge John Marshall Clemens, had sunk the family’s money into land in Tennessee, and though the plan went nowhere, the impulse toward wild speculation seems to have imprinted on young Samuel Langhorne Clemens.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
-
The conversation soon shifted to a wild admission related to cosmetic procedures.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
Sandhagen dispatched Edgar with a vicious flying knee 28 seconds into that bout.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
-
In its most memorable moment, Walker dispatches a particularly vicious henchwoman with a harpoon to the neck.—
Mike Miller,
EW.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The barbarous relic has glittered amidst the financial carnage.—
Brett Owens,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
-
How does Reed manage to revisit some of the world’s most barbarous acts without succumbing to despair?—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
9 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Barbaric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbaric. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share