as in savage
not civilized
people who were regarded as barbarian by the ancient Romans
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in primitive
an uncivilized person
the invading Germanic tribes were viewed as barbarians by the citizens of ancient Rome
Synonyms & Similar Words
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of barbarian
Max Abrahms, Foreign Affairs, 22 Mar. 2017
This means that from 1860 onwards, Argentina went from being a barbarian country to becoming the leading global power in 35 years, embracing the ideas of liberty.
—Vera Bergengruen/buenos Aires, TIME, 23 May 2024
Tim Britton, The Athletic, 30 July 2024
And while the comfortable citizens of that empire are clutching their iPhones and congratulating Steve Jobs on the iPad, the barbarians are raising their own mobile devices in defiance.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 Feb. 2010
See all Example Sentences for barbarian 
Adjective
And Marine Le Pen, the French leader of the anti-immigration National Front, has likened the influx of Syrian refugees to the barbarian invasions that destroyed the Roman Empire.
—Max Abrahms, Foreign Affairs, 22 Mar. 2017
This means that from 1860 onwards, Argentina went from being a barbarian country to becoming the leading global power in 35 years, embracing the ideas of liberty.
—Vera Bergengruen/buenos Aires, TIME, 23 May 2024
Noun
Let the front office barbarians swap one player for another.
—Tim Britton, The Athletic, 30 July 2024
And while the comfortable citizens of that empire are clutching their iPhones and congratulating Steve Jobs on the iPad, the barbarians are raising their own mobile devices in defiance.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 Feb. 2010
See all Example Sentences for barbarian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarian
Adjective
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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
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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
Noun
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Burlington Antique Show Browse more than 200 dealers of antiques, vintage jewelry, primitives, garden and architectural elements, mid-century collectibles, memorabilia, Americana and retro/vintage furniture at this monthly outdoor antique market.Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 14 Aug. 2024
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It can be used to achieve a lot of other cryptographic primitives.Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 1 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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Wondering how to get out of Dodge without being rude?Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 8 Dec. 2024
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The officers weren't rude, angry, or insolent — as required of a battery conviction — and used their training and legal authority to do their jobs.Ryan Murphy, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The audience goes wild when Foxx brings back some of his legendary characters and impersonations.Elizabeth Blair, NPR, 10 Dec. 2024
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What grief does to people is pretty wild to behold.Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Experts told PolitiFact such narratives painting Haiti as a barbarous country are not new and are racist attempts to dehumanize Haitians.Jeff Cercone, Austin American-Statesman, 14 Sep. 2024
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Treating barbarous body horror as something embedded in us deeper than the mutual love of a partner, especially when it’s done without the theatrical or exploitation trappings, makes for one of the New French Extremity’s most troubling works.Rory Doherty, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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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
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Forcing a woman to choose between jail and carrying her rapist's baby is uncivilized and medieval.CNN, CNN, 27 June 2022
Thesaurus Entries Near barbarian
Cite this Entry
“Barbarian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarian. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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