as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
more than one reluctant dental patient has been tempted to level the charge of barbarity against their dentist
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Recent Examples of barbarity
As in Squid Game, dystopian drama often plays on the barbarity of entertainment, impossible promises of curing human weakness, and finds salvation in our best qualities: solidarity, compassion, and unity.
—
Rory Doherty, Time, 27 June 2025
Enforcing immigration policy does not have to be inhumane, but the Trump administration is gloating in the very barbarity.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 14 June 2025
The Indigenous peoples who survived all this barbarity are now facing the same list of homicidal intolerance.
—Kevin Giraud, Variety, 7 June 2025
Self-defense group attacks agents The tragedy in the Artibonite region, considered the country’s breadbasket, is yet another example of Haiti’s descent into chaos and the degree to which impunity and barbarity rein as armed gangs tighten their grip.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarity
Rory Doherty, Time, 27 June 2025
Enforcing immigration policy does not have to be inhumane, but the Trump administration is gloating in the very barbarity.
—Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 14 June 2025
The Indigenous peoples who survived all this barbarity are now facing the same list of homicidal intolerance.
—Kevin Giraud, Variety, 7 June 2025
Self-defense group attacks agents The tragedy in the Artibonite region, considered the country’s breadbasket, is yet another example of Haiti’s descent into chaos and the degree to which impunity and barbarity rein as armed gangs tighten their grip.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarity
Noun
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Also on Sunday, Jacqueline’s aunt, Jackelyn Garcia, 28, was arrested and charged with intentional cruelty to a child under the age of 19, risk of injury to a child and first-degree unlawful restraint.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
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Other scary asylum stories highlighted a fear of institutional cruelty — of authority figures with total power over vulnerable patients.—
Jen Rose Smith,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The sight of Musk swinging a chainsaw onstage at a conservative conference captured the pell-mell approach, not to mention the brutality, of the billionaire’s plan to bring the federal government to heel.—
Andy Kroll,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
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And as civil rights protesters proved decades ago, a righteous, peaceful protest that is met with brutality can unmute even a silent majority.—
Nancy Gibbs,
Time,
17 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barbarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarity. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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