1
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
a barbaric dictator who tortured his own people with no qualms
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barbarian
not civilized
the barbaric forebears of modern mankind
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of barbaric
Cut to 28 days later, when Spike was rescued from a horde of infected by Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell), another original survivor who turned out to be the leader of a barbaric cult.
—
Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 3 Sep. 2025
An immigration judge issued this barbaric criminal a final order of removal on November 4, 1986.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2025
Its barbaric climax is bloody and grotesque, but also hilarious, if only due to the characters causing such mayhem.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 8 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
See All Example Sentences for barbaric
Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 3 Sep. 2025
An immigration judge issued this barbaric criminal a final order of removal on November 4, 1986.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2025
Its barbaric climax is bloody and grotesque, but also hilarious, if only due to the characters causing such mayhem.
—Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 8 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
See All Example Sentences for barbaric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbaric
Adjective
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The scene, which was not in Stephenie Meyer's 2008 book that the movie was adapted from, raised eyebrows for its brutal killings of vampires Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli) and Jasper Hale (Jackson Rathbone), as well as werewolves Seth (Booboo Stewart) and Leah Clearwater (Julia Jones).—
Jen Juneau,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 2025
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In a new era of Steven Knight’s Peaky Blinders, the race to own Birmingham’s massive reconstruction project becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Bailey plays half-elf ranger Vex, O’Brien is her twin brother Vax, Willingham is the lovable barbarian Grog, Johnson is the holy gnome cleric Pike, Jaffe is the royal gunslinger Percy, Ray is magical half-elf druid Keyleth and Riegel is the raunchy gnome bard Scanlan.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
24 July 2025
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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
Adjective
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That’s actually the cruelest thing about them.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
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The cold on August 27, 2011, was unprecedented—unbridled, utterly cruel.—
Mariana Enriquez
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Your neighbors may even call you rude.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
30 Sep. 2025
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Crowd in New York has been bordered on rude; embarrassing!—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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McBride sets the political context for Swift’s savage indignation by noting that 1727–1729 saw three successive harvest failures in Ireland.—
Matthew Wills,
JSTOR Daily,
30 Sep. 2025
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The singer went viral at Monday night’s show for her seemingly savage reaction to Tori Kelly and Muni Long’s tribute performance.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Since 2020, the center has cared for 16 mountain lions as well as thousands of other wild animals from baby songbirds to coyotes to bears.—
Karen Kucher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Sep. 2025
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The second is for wild rubber, which consists of working with some 3,000 families that live in the middle of the Amazon forest.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The worry with a dog like Chey is the fact they could be locked in a vicious cycle.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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The show follows Ed Gein (Charlie Hunnam), an unassuming and odd man, working his family’s farm under the watchful eye of his hateful and vicious mother, Augusta (Laurie Metcalf).—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
3 Oct. 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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The barbarous relic has glittered amidst the financial carnage.—
Brett Owens,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barbaric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbaric. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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