Definition

1. Noun:

   • A member of an uncivilized people: A person belonging to a group perceived as primitive, savage, or lacking the cultural and social development of the speaker's own society.
   • A crude, uncouth, or ill-bred person: Someone who behaves in a way that is considered extremely rude, coarse, or lacking in refinement and manners.

2. Adjective:

   • Without civilizing influences; savage, barbaric: Characteristic of or resembling a barbarian; uncivilized, crude, or brutally harsh.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The ancient Romans often referred to the tribes beyond their borders as barbarians.
  • He ate with his hands and shouted in the restaurant; everyone thought he was a complete barbarian.

• Adjective:

  • The barbarian customs described by the explorer shocked his readers.
  • Such barbarian treatment of prisoners is condemned by international law.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Anthropological Context: In historical writing, the term is often used from the perspective of a specific civilization (e.g., Greek, Roman, Chinese) to label outsider groups. Modern scholarship recognizes this as a subjective and often pejorative label.

  • Greek city-states united against the barbarian threat from Persia.

• Figurative Use for Behavior: Used hyperbolically to criticize someone for violating social norms, especially those related to culture or etiquette.

  • Using your phone at the opera is barbarian behavior.

Variants and Related Words

• Barbaric (adj): Savagely cruel or harsh; also can mean uncivilized.
  • The barbaric invasion left the city in ruins.
• Barbarism (n): An act or custom considered savage, brutal, or uncivilized.
  • Many consider the destruction of ancient monuments an act of barbarism.
• Barbarity (n): Extreme cruelty or brutality.
  • The barbarity of the war crimes was documented.

Synonyms

• Noun (uncivilized person): Savage, primitive, heathen (archaic).
• Noun (rude person): Boor, lout, philistine, yahoo.
• Adjective: Savage, uncivilized, primitive, crude, brutish.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• "Barbarian at the gate": A phrase, often used in business or finance, referring to an external threat or hostile force (like a corporate raider) that threatens to take over or destroy something.

  • The company's board saw the aggressive takeover bid as barbarians at the gate.

• Play on "barbarian": The term is sometimes used ironically or humorously in modern contexts, such as in fantasy genres (e.g., "barbarian warrior") or to describe someone with unsophisticated tastes.

  • He calls himself a coffee barbarian because he drinks it black with no sugar.

Adjective

1. without civilizing influences
   • barbarian invaders
   • barbaric practices
   • a savage people
   • fighting is crude and uncivilized especially if the weapons are efficient-Margaret Meade
   • wild tribes

Noun

1. a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement
2. a member of an uncivilized people