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.
—Noun
Let the front office barbarians swap one player for another.
—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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Less than one day into 2025, the superstar has already punched in with one of her characteristic comebacks, shutting down a troll who demanded new music and called her a rude name on Instagram Wednesday (Jan. 1).Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 2 Jan. 2025
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Your relative needs to stop running roughshod over you or risk being thought rude.R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Created by claymation animator Nick Park, Wallace & Gromit is a series of shorts and feature films which sees the naive inventor and his loyal dog embark on wild and whimsical adventures, ranging from science fiction to murder mystery, usually with a touch of horror.Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
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The scrappy theatrical love letter to this wild caper has been getting raves on the West End for two years.Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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 13 Jan. 2025.
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