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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of barbaric
Many of the American soldiers who liberated the concentration camps were stunned that an advanced country like Germany could turn so barbaric.
—
John Blake, CNN Money, 26 May 2025
But such practices didn’t jibe with increasingly modern economies, and colonialists, especially in North America, saw burning as both barbaric and a threat to industrialized capitalism.
—Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025
The October 7th barbaric attack created a compelling imperative for Israel to ensure Hamas could never again reign over Gaza or threaten Israel from there.
—Ehud Barak, Time, 2 June 2025
Now, a local judge is Massachusetts is trying to force the United States to bring back these uniquely barbaric monsters who present a clear and present threat to the safety of the American people.
—Dan Gooding
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbaric
John Blake, CNN Money, 26 May 2025
But such practices didn’t jibe with increasingly modern economies, and colonialists, especially in North America, saw burning as both barbaric and a threat to industrialized capitalism.
—Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025
The October 7th barbaric attack created a compelling imperative for Israel to ensure Hamas could never again reign over Gaza or threaten Israel from there.
—Ehud Barak, Time, 2 June 2025
Now, a local judge is Massachusetts is trying to force the United States to bring back these uniquely barbaric monsters who present a clear and present threat to the safety of the American people.
—Dan Gooding
gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbaric
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbaric
Adjective
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This created a growing population of vulnerable, undocumented workers in the 1960s and ’70s who increasingly faced brutal apprehensions.—
Jimmy Patino,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 July 2025
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According to an arrest affidavit obtained by USA Today, the 21-year-old approached a woman from behind at a self-checkout lane at a Walmart in Tennessee, and launched into a brutal attack.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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The economy will not thrive on backward, barbarian technologies and our babies will suffer from the burden of debt, bad air and blackouts.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 June 2025
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Built on the site of an ancient Roman fortress that protected the empire from barbarian invasion, the castle was constructed between the 11th and 14th centuries.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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A little more than a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision from the Ninth Circuit that determined a ban on people sleeping in public was constitutionally cruel and unusual.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
29 July 2025
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In an inordinately cowardly and cruel act, Rubio stayed away from the department that day, ignoring the men and women whose careers and life plans were decimated by his flippant decision-making.—
Lynn Northcutt Vega,
Sun Sentinel,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Some posed for photos, others made rude gestures, and many simply stared.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
27 July 2025
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The movie’s off-color humor wouldn’t fly today, but its rebellious spirit remains hilariously defiant — a refreshingly rude retort to the niceties of family films and their cringey feel-good messages.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
25 July 2025
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
Adjective
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The movie's wild success even knocked the popular A Minecraft Movie out of its top spot — and made history as the first horror in 35 years to receive an A from CinemaScore, a company that polls opening-night audiences.—
Staff Author,
People.com,
2 Aug. 2025
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Types reportedly in service include the Sting made by wild Hornets, ODIN’s Win_Hit and the AngryCat made by Venator Technologies, and images have emerged of unidentified types.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Coming less than a year after the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the same neighborhood, which was widely regarded as an assassination motivated by contempt for the American health insurance industry, LePatner’s death prompted a similarly vicious response on social media.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
1 Aug. 2025
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Not to mention, antibiotics aren’t always effective at killing drug-resistant bugs, and each UTI leaves you more susceptible to future infections, creating a vicious cycle.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, a man dressed as a cop shot two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses, killing the DFL speaker of the House and her husband in a barbarous (and politically motivated) atrocity.—
Jeffrey Blehar,
National Review,
14 June 2025
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Wednesday night’s barbarous shooting of two Israeli Embassy employees — gunned down, shot in the back allegedly by a pro-Palestinian activist while leaving a peace event at the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. — is more than a mere workaday atrocity.—
Jeffrey Blehar,
National Review,
23 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barbaric.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbaric. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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