1
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
a monarch resorting to whatever barbarous means he deemed necessary to protect his throne
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barbarian
not civilized
an aunt who abhors barbarous behavior such as eating with your fingers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of barbarous
Netanyahu has voiced that idea repeatedly, both before and after the Hamas attack on October 7 — the idea that Israel is a bastion of Western civilization in an uncivilized, backward, and barbarous region.
—
Vox Staff, Vox, 9 May 2024
The cruelty of Haitian gang leaders is not in dispute, nor is the widespread killing in the country during a yearslong political crisis, but the false claims about widespread cannibalism go much further in trying to paint the whole Caribbean nation as barbarous.
—David Ingram, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2024
Putin’s barbarous invasion has generated a wave of outrage across the world.
—Janice Gross Stein, Foreign Affairs, 9 Mar. 2022
Supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s barbarous invasion is an investment in both the future of Ukraine and that of the West.
—James P. Moore Jr., Fortune Europe, 22 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for barbarous
Vox Staff, Vox, 9 May 2024
The cruelty of Haitian gang leaders is not in dispute, nor is the widespread killing in the country during a yearslong political crisis, but the false claims about widespread cannibalism go much further in trying to paint the whole Caribbean nation as barbarous.
—David Ingram, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2024
Putin’s barbarous invasion has generated a wave of outrage across the world.
—Janice Gross Stein, Foreign Affairs, 9 Mar. 2022
Supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia’s barbarous invasion is an investment in both the future of Ukraine and that of the West.
—James P. Moore Jr., Fortune Europe, 22 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for barbarous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarous
Adjective
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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway fared better than the S & P 500 in a brutal week as investors embraced the safety of a cash-rich conglomerate while President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs wreaked havoc on Wall Street.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2025
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With six games remaining in the regular season — and five of them coming in a brutal seven-day span — the Knicks are suddenly getting healthy at a time when workload management becomes a daily dilemma.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Based on the best-selling comic book series, the fantasy follows barbarian huntress Red Sonja, who must unite a group of unlikely warriors to face off against the evil tyrant Emperor Draygan and his deadly bride, Dark Annisia.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2025
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So, some earlier, some later, but right around the time that the Greeks were talking about these people and excited about their barbarian lifestyle, archaeologists were finding the graves of these people.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
5 June 2015
Adjective
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Everybody else has no choice, really, other than to bring a cruel, narcissistic far-right leader to power.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
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Jokes that didn’t land with the squad The kids in Bad Influence say the pranks were the most cruel.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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My question: Was there any way to have prevented this rude woman from stealing away all of my guests? GENTLE READER: Counter-questions: Did the boss and his wife drop the guests off before the emergency furniture move?—
Judith Martin,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2025
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Really, any movie exceeding 100 minutes in this genre is just plain rude.—
Jordan Crucchiola,
Vulture,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
-
The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
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Wildlife officials later identified the animal as a marbled cat, a mysterious wild cat rarely seen on trail cameras or in-person.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2025
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Sure enough, it’s filled with campy setpieces and wild gore that plays well to an audience looking for a wild time.—
William Earl,
Variety,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Softened by pride, Amber slinks away herself, albeit much more cutely than Gregory and accompanied by a vicious side-eye.—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
3 Apr. 2025
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The Kansas City Glory’s season opener was set to begin on Saturday afternoon, but viral sensation Elena Easley was sitting on the field, experiencing a vicious headache.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.—
Joseph J. Kolb,
Fox News,
18 July 2017
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Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.—
OregonLive.com,
OregonLive.com,
12 July 2017
Cite this Entry
“Barbarous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarous. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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