UNCIVILIZED Synonyms: 31 Similar and Opposite Words

uncivilized

adjective

ˌən-ˈsi-və-ˌlīzd

Definition of uncivilized

as in barbarian

not civilized unfairly branded as uncivilized by European explorers, they had created a culture that was actually quite advanced

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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 uncivilized Under the Omanis, Zanzibar grew rich selling spices, ivory, and slaves, mostly non-Muslims from the interior, whom the island’s élites derided as washenzi, or uncivilized. — Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2022 Forcing a woman to choose between jail and carrying her rapist's baby is uncivilized and medieval. — CNN, 27 June 2022 There is no doubt uncivilized — and sometimes violent — acts have taken place in school bathrooms. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2022 Sure, the song (apparently written about writer Quentin Crisp) is just about the alienating sense of being an outsider, of having people judge you for your accent or aspiring to civility in an uncivilized land. — Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Apr. 2022 See All Example Sentences for uncivilized

Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncivilized

Adjective

Language would have been a part of the divide between Roman and barbarian.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 25 June 2026
For the design of the barbarian figure, Sweet reached out to Mark Taylor, an artist and designer at Mattel.

— Sanat Pai RaikarAll, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 May 2026

Definition of barbarian

Adjective

For instance, your colleagues may be very agreeable and kind to their boss but rude to their more junior colleagues, or the cafeteria waiter.

— Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Totally ignoring the humanity of both worker and customer is rude, and yet both parties are interested in getting on with whatever the transaction is.

— Judith Martin, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of rude

Adjective

Bryan Singer’s ingenious thriller is both a graceful callback to ’50s potboilers and a savage modernization of them.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Sep. 2026
Cole, who has to maneuver his way around 20 savage crew members, each of whom will need to be killed, doesn’t waste a homicidal movement.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of savage

Adjective

With how the current postseason schedule is set up, the Jays could get through a wild-card round and five-game series with just three starters.

— Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Inspired by real events, the six-parter centers on the first criminal investigation in Spain into the killing of a wild animal, following the death of bear Cachou in the Pyrenees’ Aran Valley in 2020.

— Annika Pham, Variety, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of wild

Adjective

Between these spaces exists a world balanced on the edge of the modern and the primitive, the high-tech and the rural, the corporeal and the mythic.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2026
When the Followers began, healthcare on the Western frontier was primitive, unsanitary and riddled with con artists peddling fake cures.

— Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of primitive

Adjective

The chaos in Ithaca may be political and ethical—a violation of custom—but stretches of the poem are barbarous and wild, beyond civilized life altogether.

— David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
Seeking to eliminate Berber forces in the barren mountains of northern Morocco, seven soldiers obediently follow their fanatical sergeant (Víctor Clavijo) into barbarous depths of depravity.

— Ed Meza, Variety, 16 May 2026

Definition of barbarous

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uncivil

uncivilized

uncivilly

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“Uncivilized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uncivilized. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of uncivilized

adjective

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