barbaric

adjective

bär-ˈber-ik How to pronounce barbaric (audio)
Definition of barbaricnext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barbarian
not civilized the barbaric forebears of modern mankind

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 barbaric Ironically, the authority of doctors was supremely important to medieval people, even if the treatments seem barbaric and ineffective now. — T.m. Brown, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026 How could anyone do this dastardly, inhumane, barbaric escape? — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 14 Aug. 2026 The jail in Rostov was less barbaric but no less stultifying. — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for barbaric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbaric
  1. brutal
  2. barbarian
  3. cruel
  4. rude
  5. savage
  6. wild
  7. vicious
  8. barbarous
Adjective
  • Now in his 25th year on television, Chuck has built a beloved media career through brutal honesty.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Although the decrease in shot volume wasn’t quite as dramatic, Giddey went 1-for-10 from the field and scored only two points in Wednesday’s brutal beatdown by the Raptors.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of brutal
Adjective
  • Language would have been a part of the divide between Roman and barbarian.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 June 2026
  • For the design of the barbarian figure, Sweet reached out to Mark Taylor, an artist and designer at Mattel.
    — Sanat Pai RaikarAll, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 May 2026
Definition of barbarian
Adjective
  • Participants fell into their roles a little too well and, after a prisoner rebellion, increasingly cruel forms of punishment from the guards and a number of students suffering mental breakdowns, the experiment was ended on the sixth day.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 25 Oct. 2026
  • But these townswomen — whether the undersexed Bakerwoman (Ella Bruccoleri ) or the prim, cruel busybody the Tailor’s Wife (a deliciously scheming Elizabeth Debicki) — are deeply unhappy with their own lot in life.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • While older generations may interpret limited eye contact, a flat expression or a pause before responding as rude, lazy or unprofessional, that might not be a younger person’s intent at all, Leahy said.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Bel glows with a kind of rude Californian health and goes once a week for chiropractic adjustments, including of her jaw.
    — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of rude
Adjective
  • In ancient, supposedly more savage times, public killings were common.
    — Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 22 Oct. 2026
  • That’s when another event, GRB 250702B, revealed itself in all its relentless, savage glory.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of savage
Adjective
  • Unpacking Meta's wild week Meta delivered a strong third quarter Wednesday evening, but worries about negative free cash flow and its AI spending needs upstaged strong guidance and a promising roadmap for its viral Muse AI agent.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The film is a wild, frequently grotesque spectacle that careens between horror, action, slapstick, and black comedy.
    — Lisa Wong Macabasco, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of wild
Adjective
  • So too, the possibility of Rollerball-style carnage carnivals where robots compete in vicious cage matches until only one android is still moving.
    — Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Cash reserves totaling $ 7,450,869 are being used to eviscerate his opponent with a vicious barrage of ad hominem assaults, thus giving him a 61 to 1 spending edge.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of vicious
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

Browse Nearby Words

barbarians
barbaric
barbarism
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Cite this Entry

“Barbaric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbaric. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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