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
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 June 2025
Built on the site of an ancient Roman fortress that protected the empire from barbarian invasion, the castle was constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 10 June 2025
Air Mail, 20 Dec. 2025
We were inspired by their outrageous VHS cover art that promised epic tales of heroic barbarians rescuing buxom babes from giant monsters.
—Bear McCreary, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarian
Adjective
The economy will not thrive on backward, barbarian technologies and our babies will suffer from the burden of debt, bad air and blackouts.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 June 2025
Built on the site of an ancient Roman fortress that protected the empire from barbarian invasion, the castle was constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 10 June 2025
Noun
Per this year’s edition of AIR MAIL’s annual Over-Under List, caviar bumps—where barbarians (TikTokers) lick precious fish eggs off the back of their hands like table salt before a gag-inducing tequila shot—are out!
—Air Mail, 20 Dec. 2025
We were inspired by their outrageous VHS cover art that promised epic tales of heroic barbarians rescuing buxom babes from giant monsters.
—Bear McCreary, HollywoodReporter, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarian
Adjective
-
The famed African American journalist investigated lynchings across the South and wrote about the savage incidents that the white press had already explained away.—
Case Thorp,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The loss of books is minor, almost trivial, in light of all the horrors and violence unleashed by this senseless war, but the potential loss of these books is a sad reminder that we’re all affected and implicated in America’s savage flailings.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
What follows this admission is a piercing dissection not of the art itself, but of frameworks of looking at Black art and life that go beyond racist tropes disguised as appeals to the primitive, the spontaneous, the corporeal.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Mar. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Rain, April’s rude house guest, visits erratically and unannounced.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Some lawyers think a video shows a Texas judge being rude to an IT worker.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Her work plainly belongs to this lineage of witchy writers, women whose deliciously corrupted scenes of home and hearth produce fear and wild laughter at once.—
Kristen Roupenian,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Sure, there were errant 3-pointers, and a wild reverse layup that was way off in the third quarter.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
During the Middle Ages, for example, many contemporary accounts from both Christian and Muslim societies depicted their opposing side as barbaric, blasphemous, and inferior.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Reports say Mohammadi was killed in a public hanging seen as a barbaric move by the Iranian regime to snuff out the ongoing movement seeking to topple it, according to Iranian American human rights activists and dissidents.—
Benjamin Weinthal,
FOXNews.com,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Lies told by people who are simply too afraid to look at such an ugly, barbarous reality.—
Clare Malone,
New Yorker,
19 Jan. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Rather than a barrier between north and south, Arab and African, civilized and uncivilized, the Sahara emerges as a varied landscape deeply enmeshed in trading, religious, and other networks that stretch beyond its vast expanse.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
-
This sort of rhetoric only adds to the hysterical nature of contemporary politics, giving respectability to uncivilized behavior.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barbarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarian. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
