BARBARIAN Synonyms: 32 Similar and Opposite Words

barbarian 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of barbarian

as in savage

not civilized people who were regarded as barbarian by the ancient Romans

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

barbarian

2 of 2

noun

bär-ˈber-ē-ən

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

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

While the original action figure might at first glance look like a classic cartoon barbarian, the character and his world are a wild blend of science fiction, fantasy, action-adventure, and even comedy. — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 2 June 2026 In the series adaptation, from creator, executive producer and co-showrunner Turner (Up In The Air, X-Men First Class), a ruthless and crass barbarian is cursed to only use his violence for good, which sends him, his talking axe and a young witch on a road of self discovery, redemption and revenge. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 13 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for barbarian

Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarian

Adjective

Golf star Charley Hull pulled off a savage prank on her caddie, Adam Woodward, earlier in the week, and some people were upset about it.

— Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2026
The Yellow Death has disfigured the population, and soldiers in white-and-red tunics serve the savage Duke of Tviot.

— Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026

Definition of savage

Noun

Each is a move to control more of the layer between the customer and the underlying financial primitive, whether that primitive is a card rail, a deposit account, or a stablecoin reserve.

— Azeem Khan, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
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

Definition of primitive

Adjective

Get ready for a day that feels almost as wild as the land itself.

— Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Aug. 2026
The prospect cost was likely going to be high if Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and the front office invested in upgrades to a roster currently holding the top National League wild-card position.

— Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of wild

Adjective

Maggie Greene was introduced in The Walking Dead season 2 as an open-hearted survivor who was just beginning to grapple with the barbaric nature of her new reality after the Wildfire virus decimates humanity.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026
The entire barbaric Ukraine adventure will look like a catastrophe.

— Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

Definition of barbaric

Adjective

The chaos in Ithaca may be political and ethical—a violation of custom—but stretches of the poem are barbarous and wild, beyond civilized life altogether.

— David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
Seeking to eliminate Berber forces in the barren mountains of northern Morocco, seven soldiers obediently follow their fanatical sergeant (Víctor Clavijo) into barbarous depths of depravity.

— Ed Meza, Variety, 16 May 2026

Definition of barbarous

Adjective

But the show repeatedly undercuts that point of view by halfway reinforcing the age-old American assumption that crime is born of poor individual choices among an uncivilized populace, not of poverty, desperation, and preservation, both self and communal.

— Andy Andersen, Vulture, 27 June 2026
Colonial technology came for his kingdom, regardless, and the forces of modernity ended up demonizing those who didn’t embrace technology as backward and uncivilized.

— Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2026

Definition of uncivilized

Browse Nearby Words

barb

barbarian

barbarianism

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Style

“Barbarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarian. Accessed 7 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of barbarian

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

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