1
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
a barbaric dictator who tortured his own people with no qualms
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barbarian
not civilized
the barbaric forebears of modern mankind
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Recent Examples of barbaric
Where The Convert does excel is in its treatment of the Maori characters, even the most barbaric of whom are afforded dimensions mostly lacking in their British counterparts.
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Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 July 2024
The dehumanization of Palestinians as barbaric, primitive, or terroristic, for example, perpetuates racist tropes about not just Arabs but also about Muslims more broadly.
—Abdallah Fayyad, Vox, 5 June 2024
For the 26-year-old Australian nurse, the barbaric beating and gang rape on the night of Feb. 2, 1986, that left her dead in a rural field with her throat slashed was the stuff of nightmares.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 14 Oct. 2024
Dungeons & Dragons taught fantasy fans to understand orcs as a fusion of racist tropes, combining a barbaric other and a vaguely native people of tribes and clans.
—Caitlin Penzeymoog, Vox, 7 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barbaric 
Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 July 2024
The dehumanization of Palestinians as barbaric, primitive, or terroristic, for example, perpetuates racist tropes about not just Arabs but also about Muslims more broadly.
—Abdallah Fayyad, Vox, 5 June 2024
For the 26-year-old Australian nurse, the barbaric beating and gang rape on the night of Feb. 2, 1986, that left her dead in a rural field with her throat slashed was the stuff of nightmares.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 14 Oct. 2024
Dungeons & Dragons taught fantasy fans to understand orcs as a fusion of racist tropes, combining a barbaric other and a vaguely native people of tribes and clans.
—Caitlin Penzeymoog, Vox, 7 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barbaric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbaric
Adjective
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Thousands of prisoners have now been freed, many after decades of incarceration in brutal conditions.Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, 13 Dec. 2024
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Winter's brutal grip is continuing Friday for millions across the eastern U.S. as temperatures remain well below average.Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
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Steve muses, as the clip cuts to barbarian humanoid pigs attacking a city.Greg Evans, Deadline, 19 Nov. 2024
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Yet the real struggle between red and blue bears little resemblance to the flamboyant melodrama narrated by partisans, in which each side fights to defend humanity against a barbarian horde.Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 19 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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Snape is the cruel but complex potions master at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, played by Alan Rickman in all seven Harry Potter films.Jason Fields, Newsweek, 5 Dec. 2024
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The season two scoop: A cruel winter brings new challenges and unfinished business to Jacob (Ford) and Cara (Mirren) back at Dutton ranch.Marc Berman, Forbes, 5 Dec. 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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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
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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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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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That was confirmed by his patron in Moscow, which supported the regime in crushing what started as a peaceful protest movement during the Arab Spring and became a vicious civil war that killed hundreds of thousands and sparked a refugee crisis.Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 9 Dec. 2024
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Its main proxy, Hezbollah, was crippled by a pager attack on its hierarchy, and then by weeks of vicious airstrikes.Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 7 Dec. 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
Thesaurus Entries Near barbaric
Cite this Entry
“Barbaric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbaric. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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