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

Another scene bound to induce winces and covered eyes involves a barbaric eyelash transplant procedure, cinematographer Marcel Zyskind’s camera bringing us way too close to the incisions and their aftermath. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025

Emilie Blichfeldt’s body horror film includes several difficult-to-watch scenes of crude cosmetic surgery, including its protagonist eating a tapeworm, sewing in eyelashes and enduring a barbaric rhinoplasty. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 24 Jan. 2025

Supporting Ukraine to defend itself from Russia's barbaric invasion and rebuild a prosperous, sovereign future, is vital to this government's foundation of security and our Plan for Change. —Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025

The novel describes, among other barbaric acts, how soldiers and police threw bodies carelessly into trucks that carted them off to be hidden or burned. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025

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