as in savage
not civilized
people who were regarded as barbarian by the ancient Romans
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in primitive
an uncivilized person
the invading Germanic tribes were viewed as barbarians by the citizens of ancient Rome
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 barbarian
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 16 Feb. 2025
So, some earlier, some later, but right around the time that the Greeks were talking about these people and excited about their barbarian lifestyle, archaeologists were finding the graves of these people.
—Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2015
Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 21 May 2025
The barbarians are all those who hate human nature, all those who trample upon the sense of the sacred, all those who do not value life, all those who rebel against God the Creator of man and nature.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarian
Adjective
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
So, some earlier, some later, but right around the time that the Greeks were talking about these people and excited about their barbarian lifestyle, archaeologists were finding the graves of these people.
—Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2015
Noun
The colonized lands are conceptualized of as virgin or empty, or populated by savages and barbarians who amount to less-than-human types who must make way for the settlers.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 21 May 2025
The barbarians are all those who hate human nature, all those who trample upon the sense of the sacred, all those who do not value life, all those who rebel against God the Creator of man and nature.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarian
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
Noun
-
Burlington Antique Show Browse more than 200 dealers of antiques, vintage jewelry, primitives, garden and architectural elements, mid-century collectibles, memorabilia, Americana and retro/vintage furniture at this monthly outdoor antique market.—
Luann Gibbs,
The Enquirer,
14 Aug. 2024
-
It can be used to achieve a lot of other cryptographic primitives.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
1 Aug. 2024
Adjective
-
Think scarf head coverings for women in Catholic churches, shoe removal for all to enter a mosque, yarmulkes required for men in synagogues, but also pay attention to the cultural norms away from houses of worship and behave accordingly to avoid being considered a rude American.—
Jenny Peters,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
-
The Reddit community nearly unanimously branded the boyfriend as rude and tone-deaf.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
3 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Historian Terry Bouton has argued compellingly that most of the framers, landholding elites, deeply mistrusted the mass of American countrymen, and saw democracy as a wild, unruly stallion that needed to be tamed.—
Matthew Redmond
August 13,
Literary Hub,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Fans used to seeing the Kansas City Chiefs star all suited up for football games or a night out with gf Taylor Swift may do a double take at the (literally) wild spread.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
It’s been 22 months since Hamas launched one of the most barbaric terror attacks in modern history on Oct. 7, 2023.—
Benjamin Sharoni,
Boston Herald,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Russian forces appear not to have targeted the evacuation effort over the past three days, according to locals and rescuers, a rare moment of respite from the daily barbaric drone strikes on civilians across the city of recent months.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
In the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, a man dressed as a cop shot two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses, killing the DFL speaker of the House and her husband in a barbarous (and politically motivated) atrocity.—
Jeffrey Blehar,
National Review,
14 June 2025
-
Wednesday night’s barbarous shooting of two Israeli Embassy employees — gunned down, shot in the back allegedly by a pro-Palestinian activist while leaving a peace event at the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. — is more than a mere workaday atrocity.—
Jeffrey Blehar,
National Review,
23 May 2025
Adjective
-
Under the Omanis, Zanzibar grew rich selling spices, ivory, and slaves, mostly non-Muslims from the interior, whom the island’s élites derided as washenzi, or uncivilized.—
Julian Lucas,
The New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2022
-
Forcing a woman to choose between jail and carrying her rapist's baby is uncivilized and medieval.—
CNN,
CNN,
27 June 2022
Cite this Entry
“Barbarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarian. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share