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
Greg Evans, Deadline, 19 Nov. 2024
Column of Marcus Aurelius was erected in AD 180 to commemorate his victories over the barbarian tribes of the Danube.
—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 20 June 2024
Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2025
Hello, football-drunk barbarians.
—Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarian
Adjective
Steve muses, as the clip cuts to barbarian humanoid pigs attacking a city.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 19 Nov. 2024
Column of Marcus Aurelius was erected in AD 180 to commemorate his victories over the barbarian tribes of the Danube.
—Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 20 June 2024
Noun
Like victorious barbarians in a war between the present and the past, bulldozers this week tore into the towers and walls of a Miami castle that once housed El Cid restaurant.
—Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2025
Hello, football-drunk barbarians.
—Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 10 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarian
Adjective
-
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
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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
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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Be Courtesy To Other Shoppers To a Southerner, manners are top of mind, so pushing, shoving, and being rude over buying things doesn’t jive with a genteel way of life.—
Jennifer Prince,
Southern Living,
19 Apr. 2025
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The same employee, who Shea said was also rude to her, answered and told her the company was closed.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This ferocious, steep-banked corner possesses a wild 24% gradient, a nod to Spain’s bullfighting heritage.—
Kanzah Maktoum,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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Niemann, a grandmaster, beat Carlsen in an upset in a 2022 match, leading Carlsen to withdraw from the tournament and setting off wild speculation about whether Niemann could have cheated, though no such allegations were ever proven.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Yet his statements, once again, fail to mention the hostages and fail to mention Hamas, whose barbaric actions on October 7, 2023, triggered this war.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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Yet his statements, once again, fail to mention the hostages and fail to mention Hamas, whose barbaric actions on October 7 2023, triggered this war.—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Any slip-up or act of insubordination, no matter how small, results in immediate death from the barbarous SS members running the camp.—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 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
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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 6 May. 2025.
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