Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Extremely cruel, brutal, or primitive; characteristic of a barbarian: Describes actions, customs, or behaviors that are considered savage, uncivilized, or inhumane by modern or civilized standards.
   • Extravagantly ornate, unrestrained, or crude in a way that is considered tasteless: Describes something, often in art or decoration, that is excessively elaborate or rich in a crude, unrefined manner.

Usage Examples

• Describing cruel or primitive behavior:
  • The barbaric treatment of prisoners was condemned by human rights organizations.
  • Many ancient cultures had practices that seem barbaric to us today.
• Describing crude or unrestrained extravagance:
  • The palace's barbaric decor, covered in gold and jewels, was overwhelming.
  • Critics described the artist's later work as barbaric in its use of clashing colors.

Advanced Usage

• "barbaric act/custom/practice": A specific action or tradition considered savage.
  • The abolition of that barbaric custom was a major step forward for the society.
• Used in a hyperbolic or figurative sense to express strong disapproval of something considered crude or uncivilized in a modern context.
  • His table manners are absolutely barbaric!

Variants and Related Words

• Barbarian (noun): A member of a community or tribe not belonging to one of the great civilizations (Greek, Roman, Christian); a person perceived as primitive or uncivilized.
• Barbarism (noun): Extreme cruelty or brutality; an uncivilized or primitive state.
• Barbarity (noun): Savage cruelty or extremely brutal behavior.
• Barbarously (adverb): In a savage, cruel, or uncivilized manner.

Synonyms

• Savage: Fierce, violent, and uncontrolled; primitive and uncivilized.
• Brutal: Savagely violent; punishingly hard or uncomfortable.
• Cruel: Willfully causing pain or suffering to others.
• Primitive: Relating to an early stage of development; very basic or unsophisticated.
• Uncivilized: Not socially, culturally, or morally advanced.

Antonyms

• Civilized: At an advanced stage of social and cultural development; polite and well-mannered.
• Humane: Having or showing compassion or benevolence.
• Refined: Elegant and cultured in appearance, manner, or taste.
• Sophisticated: Developed to a high degree of complexity; having worldly experience and taste.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Barbaric yawp: A phrase from Walt Whitman's poetry, sometimes used to refer to a loud, unrestrained, or primitive shout or expression.
  • The poet's work was a barbaric yawp against the constraints of traditional form.

Adjective

1. unrestrained and crudely rich
   • barbaric use of color or ornament
2. 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