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
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
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Recent Examples of barbarian
Foreign Affairs, 5 June 2015
Yet the real struggle between red and blue bears little resemblance to the flamboyant melodrama narrated by partisans, in which each side fights to defend humanity against a barbarian horde.
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Oct. 2024
Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald, 15 Apr. 2025
Las Casas thought that the real barbarians weren’t the Indians but the Spaniards.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarian
Adjective
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
Yet the real struggle between red and blue bears little resemblance to the flamboyant melodrama narrated by partisans, in which each side fights to defend humanity against a barbarian horde.
—Matthew Karp, Harper's Magazine, 2 Oct. 2024
Noun
These barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign Nation, and their future is up to President B and his Government.
—Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald, 15 Apr. 2025
Las Casas thought that the real barbarians weren’t the Indians but the Spaniards.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarian
Adjective
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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
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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
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It can be used to achieve a lot of other cryptographic primitives.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
1 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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And even if that feels rude by the standards of today, people were forced to answer her questions and answer to the things that the public wanted to know.—
Alex Jhamb Burns,
Vogue,
23 June 2025
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There are so many things that can be off or what if just the woman walks in and just is not attracted to the guy or the man is rude to the waiter.—
Steve Baltin,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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Each spring, the officials explained, the women travelled out to these islands and built little wooden huts for wild eider ducks, protecting them from predators.—
James Rebanks
June 26,
Literary Hub,
26 June 2025
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In a wild twist, Mason, who ran the point for KU’s alumni team last July, has switched squads and will play for Boeheim’s Army, a collection of former Syracuse players.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Here instead were a new brand of barbaric creatures that could take chase at a terrifyingly relentless clip.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
16 June 2025
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Many of the American soldiers who liberated the concentration camps were stunned that an advanced country like Germany could turn so barbaric.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
26 May 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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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
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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 8 Jul. 2025.
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