barbaric

adjective

bar·​bar·​ic bär-ˈber-ik 

-ˈba-rik

1

a

: of, relating to, or characteristic of a group of people who are alien to another land, culture, or people and who are usually believed to be inferior : of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians

b

: possessing or characteristic of a cultural level more complex than primitive (see primitive entry 1 sense 2c) culture but less sophisticated than advanced civilization (see civilization sense 1a)

2

a

: marked by a lack of restraint : wild

a barbaric use of color

b

: having a bizarre, primitive, or unsophisticated quality

… I sound my barbaric yawp …

—Walt Whitman

the tangled, loose barbaric magnificence of the Elizabethan drama

—Think

3

: barbarous sense 3

barbaric crimes

barbarically

bär-ˈber-i-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈba-ri-

adverb

Synonyms

• atrocious
• barbarous
• brutal
• brute
• butcherly
• cruel
• fiendish
• heartless
• inhuman
• inhumane
• sadistic
• savage
• truculent
• vicious
• wanton

Examples of barbaric in a Sentence

Barbaric tribes invaded the area.

His table manners are barbaric.

They considered the custom barbaric.

The treatment of the prisoners was positively barbaric.

Recent Examples on the Web

Very few directors working today can put across a movie like Gladiator II as convincingly, which perhaps explains why the sequel — for all its barbaric violence and the plaintive, at times stirring, discussions about justice and democracy — doesn’t have the mournful quality that the first film did. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 22 Nov. 2024

Sudanese who took the same route with other smugglers say they were subjected to barbaric conditions on the journey. —Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Oct. 2024

The two-and-a-half-hour film follows two Black teenagers who become wards of a barbaric juvenile reformatory in Jim Crow-era Florida. —Anna Tingley, Variety, 28 Sep. 2024

The baseless claims have been described as racist because of the implication that Haitian immigrants, most of whom are Black, have barbaric practices or are incapable of living peacefully among white neighbors. —David Ingram, NBC News, 10 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

barbaric

adjective

bar·​bar·​ic bär-ˈbar-ik 

1

: of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians

2

: cruel sense 2, savage