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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of barbaric
Now, a local judge is Massachusetts is trying to force the United States to bring back these uniquely barbaric monsters who present a clear and present threat to the safety of the American people.
—
Dan Gooding
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 May 2025
Another barbaric ‘harvesting’ of bears in Florida | Editorial
Happy Hunger Games!
—South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, 26 May 2025
But killing so many of them as a means of population control is barbaric.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 24 May 2025
The nation has also harbored and financially supported the fanatical Hamas terror group, which carried out the barbaric Oct. 7 attacks against Israel, our staunch ally in the region.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbaric
Dan Gooding
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 May 2025
Another barbaric ‘harvesting’ of bears in Florida | Editorial
Happy Hunger Games!
—South Florida Sun Sentinel, Sun Sentinel, 26 May 2025
But killing so many of them as a means of population control is barbaric.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 24 May 2025
The nation has also harbored and financially supported the fanatical Hamas terror group, which carried out the barbaric Oct. 7 attacks against Israel, our staunch ally in the region.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbaric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbaric
Adjective
-
The Royals lost to the Dodgers on Friday night, a brutal 5-4 loss as Jac Caglianone grounded into a double play to conclude the 11th straight home loss.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
28 June 2025
-
The 28-year-old is playing on a medical exemption after a brutal stretch of injuries and illness.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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What is a totalitarian leader other than an individualist taking that creed to its cruel conclusions, erasing the uniqueness of every other person into mere characters in a drama?—
Ed Simon
June 23,
Literary Hub,
23 June 2025
-
This realization reconfigures the entire book, recasting their ongoing dialogue and seemingly cordial relations as an interstellar jail—and the novel itself into an extended, especially cruel prison sentence.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
21 June 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Adjective
-
The final product is an unpredictable, wild ride full of suspense, fun, and classic horror gore.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
26 June 2025
-
Top Gun: Maverick had a 96% critic score and a wild 99% audience score, one of the best for a blockbuster in a decade, at least.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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This approach costs three times more than housing people and creates a vicious cycle — incarceration increases homelessness risk by destroying community connections and employment prospects.—
Mahdi E Diab,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 June 2025
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Of course, no conversation about Yellowjackets season 3 would be complete without a deep dive into Shauna's vicious throw down with Swank's Melissa — during which Shauna rips a chunk of flesh off Melissa's arm with her teeth and forces her to eat it.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
19 June 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
Cite this Entry
“Barbaric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbaric. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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