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
The vast majority of us see that as an act of cultural barbarity.
—
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2025
The new episodes have all the flaws of the misguided Season 2, including that the show's core anticapitalist message has been swept aside in favor of more action set pieces and ceaseless barbarity.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 28 June 2025
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
For that reason, there is a very real possibility that policymakers would wind up with the weakest option: rant about the unthinkable barbarity of the Russian action and implement whatever unused economic sanctions are still available but do nothing militarily.
—Richard K. Betts, Foreign Affairs, 4 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for barbarity
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 15 Aug. 2025
The new episodes have all the flaws of the misguided Season 2, including that the show's core anticapitalist message has been swept aside in favor of more action set pieces and ceaseless barbarity.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 28 June 2025
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
For that reason, there is a very real possibility that policymakers would wind up with the weakest option: rant about the unthinkable barbarity of the Russian action and implement whatever unused economic sanctions are still available but do nothing militarily.
—Richard K. Betts, Foreign Affairs, 4 July 2022
See All Example Sentences for barbarity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarity
Noun
-
Two swaggering outlaws roll into a mining town and unleash a wave of cruelty.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
20 Jan. 2026
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Erie police are working with the shelter's cruelty team to get justice for the husky pup, named Aimee after the Erie police dispatcher who took the original call.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Jan. 2026
Noun
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For some residents, Good’s killing reopened deep wounds in a city still reckoning with the police murder of George Floyd, which occurred just blocks away in May 2020 and sparked nationwide protests against police brutality.—
Nicole Acevedo,
NBC news,
10 Jan. 2026
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Captured on video, the incident would bring national tensions over police brutality to a head, igniting months of demonstrations around the country.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barbarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarity. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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