as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
the utter barbarousness of slavery outraged the abolitionists
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarousness
Noun
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The American people must reject this cruelty and extremism.—
Ali Bauman,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026 -
Does their lack of kindness grant you permission to respond with equal insensitivity or even cruelty?—
Michael Isaacson,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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With much of the world horrified by the USSR’s brutality, Eisenhower was furious that the British-French-Israeli offensive was both diverting international attention and handing Moscow a PR victory by enabling it to speak about Western aggression in the Middle East.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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The 1986 film also included accounts by former conscripts who had been forced to participate in the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, making clear the hopelessness and brutality of the war, starkly contrasting with the Kremlin’s version of a war of progress and purpose.—
Will Tizard,
Variety,
2 Nov. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Barbarousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarousness. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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