Synonym Chooser

How is the word barbarous different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of barbarous are cruel, ferocious, fierce, and savage. While all these words mean "showing fury or malignity in looks or actions," barbarous implies a ferocity or mercilessness regarded as unworthy of civilized people.

barbarous treatment of prisoners

When might cruel be a better fit than barbarous?

The words cruel and barbarous can be used in similar contexts, but cruel implies indifference to suffering and even positive pleasure in inflicting it.

the cruel jokes of schoolboys

When is ferocious a more appropriate choice than barbarous?

In some situations, the words ferocious and barbarous are roughly equivalent. However, ferocious implies extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality.

a ferocious dog

When is it sensible to use fierce instead of barbarous?

While in some cases nearly identical to barbarous, fierce applies to humans and animals that inspire terror because of their wild and menacing aspect or fury in attack.

fierce warriors

When can savage be used instead of barbarous?

The words savage and barbarous are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, savage implies the absence of inhibitions restraining civilized people filled with rage, lust, or other violent passion.

a savage criminal

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 barbarous Any slip-up or act of insubordination, no matter how small, results in immediate death from the barbarous SS members running the camp. Josh Weiss, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025 How does Reed manage to revisit some of the world’s most barbarous acts without succumbing to despair? K.j. Yossman, Variety, 9 Oct. 2024 Treating barbarous body horror as something embedded in us deeper than the mutual love of a partner, especially when it’s done without the theatrical or exploitation trappings, makes for one of the New French Extremity’s most troubling works. Rory Doherty, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024 Experts told PolitiFact such narratives painting Haiti as a barbarous country are not new and are racist attempts to dehumanize Haitians. Jeff Cercone, Austin American-Statesman, 14 Sep. 2024 See All Example Sentences for barbarous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarous
Adjective
  • Even for those in the North who didn’t care a damn for the four million held in brutal bondage, or those who wanted a soft, conciliatory approach, the war began to take on new and moral meaning.
    Jack Sheehan September 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The trailer also showcases several brutal fights, an over-flowing oil emergency at the patch, a car accident, and Cami paying witness to two men taking down a third individual with their guns drawn.
    Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Bailey plays half-elf ranger Vex, O’Brien is her twin brother Vax, Willingham is the lovable barbarian Grog, Johnson is the holy gnome cleric Pike, Jaffe is the royal gunslinger Percy, Ray is magical half-elf druid Keyleth and Riegel is the raunchy gnome bard Scanlan.
    Jordan Moreau, Variety, 24 July 2025
  • 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
Adjective
  • Because of the cruel math of throughput and utilization, over ten days, only three hundred people experienced Blur.
    Charlie Fink, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Tamra was awful to Gretchen back then, culminating in the Naked Wasted Party, which was one of the cruelest things to ever happen on Housewives.
    Brian Moylan, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • In interviews, Candy, who struggled with his weight for much of his life, had to deal with the press making rude comments about his size.
    Brent Lang, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
  • This question becomes thornier once Dorotea visits Rocca in prison, finding her rude and abrasive though not irrational.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • This thrilling prequel stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa and Alyla Browne as young Furiosa, who is abducted by the savage warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) — leader of the Biker Horde — and spends the next decade in captivity plotting her revenge and escape.
    Charlotte Walsh, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
  • There was a time when loving someone of the wrong gender could result in harassment, arrest or a savage beating.
    Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • July through September brings the most color, and wild sunflowers are well-known for growing here.
    Iona Brannon, Travel + Leisure, 9 Sep. 2025
  • John Mitani is a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Michigan, whose studies over 45 years have included wild chimpanzees in Uganda and Tanzania; gibbons and orangutans in Indonesia, gorillas in Rwanda, and bonobos in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    Keith Matheny, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Once infected, the body demands even more energy to fend off infection, leading to a vicious cycle.
    Michal Ruprecht, NPR, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Masked country crooner Orville Peck will keep his face covered while playing Vega, the vicious fighter who uses metal claws as one of his weapons.
    Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Instead of blasting in all directions, like a primitive roadside bomb, an EFP directs and concentrates the force of its explosion.
    Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
  • The body shell, fenders, and low-slung doors were hung on a ladder-type frame, primitive compared to the unibody MGB roadster that debuted in 1962.
    Robert Ross, Robb Report, 29 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Barbarous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarous. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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