barbarian
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.
Adjective:
- Without civilizing influences; savage, barbaric: Characteristic of or resembling a barbarian; uncivilized, crude, or brutally harsh.
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.
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.
- 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.
- Noun (uncivilized person): Savage, primitive, heathen (archaic).
- Noun (rude person): Boor, lout, philistine, yahoo.
- Adjective: Savage, uncivilized, primitive, crude, brutish.
"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.
- 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
- a crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement
- a member of an uncivilized people