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
Walt Whitmanthe tangled, loose barbaric magnificence of the Elizabethan drama—Think
Think3
: barbarous sense 3
barbaric crimes
Synonyms
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
And so much of the first season relied on the novel horror of watching the barbaric, exploitative Squid Game play out, hoping that protagonist Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) could hold onto his humanity in the face of it all.
—Kayti Burt, TIME, 26 Dec. 2024
But after the enormous success of It, a genuinely fantastic and wonderfully barbaric horror flick that managed to strike a chord with the general public despite its gore, the sequel’s budget was nearly doubled from $40 million to nearly $79 million.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for barbaric 
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Kayti Burt, TIME, 26 Dec. 2024
But after the enormous success of It, a genuinely fantastic and wonderfully barbaric horror flick that managed to strike a chord with the general public despite its gore, the sequel’s budget was nearly doubled from $40 million to nearly $79 million.
—Travis Bean, Forbes, 23 Nov. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for barbaric
Dictionary Entries Near barbaric
Cite this Entry
“Barbaric.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barbaric. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
barbaric
adjective
bar·bar·ic
bär-ˈbar-ik
1
: of, relating to, or characteristic of barbarians
2
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