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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Brooks explained the white and brown pup was rescued from a cruelty case in South Carolina.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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The cruelty, after all, is the point.—
Liam Quinn,
PEOPLE,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Her name is Christa Gail Pike, who was convicted of killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer three decades ago in a case that made national headlines at the time for its brutality.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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Safdie’s presentation of these comments foregrounds Mark’s understanding of what’s profound, and profoundly disturbing, about mixed martial arts, and perhaps all martial arts—the channelling and professionalizing of brutality.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barbarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarity. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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