barbarian

[ bahr-bair-ee-uhn ]

/ bɑrˈbɛər i ən /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR barbarian ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person in a savage, primitive state; uncivilized person.

a person without culture, refinement, or education; philistine.

(loosely) a foreigner.

(in ancient and medieval periods)

a non-Greek.
a person living outside, especially north of, the Roman Empire.
a person not living in a Christian country or within a Christian civilization.

(among Italians during the Renaissance) a person of non-Italian origin.

adjective

uncivilized; crude; savage.

foreign; alien.

Origin of barbarian

1540–50; < Latin barbari(a) barbarous country (see barbarous, -ia) + -an

SYNONYMS FOR barbarian

3 alien.

6 rude, primitive, wild, rough, barbaric, coarse, ignorant, uncultivated.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR barbarian ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR barbarian

6 cultivated, civilized.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR barbarian ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for barbarian

6. Barbarian, barbaric, barbarous pertain to uncivilized people. Barbarian is the general word for anything uncivilized: a barbarian tribe. Barbaric has both unfavorable and mildly favorable connotations, implying crudeness of taste or practice, or conveying an idea of rude magnificence and splendor: barbaric noise. Barbarous emphasizes the inhumanity and cruelty of barbarian life: barbarous customs.

OTHER WORDS FROM barbarian

bar·bar·i·an·ism, noun half-bar·bar·i·an, adjective non·bar·bar·i·an, adjective, noun

Words nearby barbarian

barbados aloe, barbados earth, barbados gooseberry, barbados pride, barbara, barbarian, barbarianize, barbaric, barbarism, barbarity, barbarize

Example sentences from the Web for barbarian

I wrote my first book listening to the soundtrack to the movie Conan the Barbarian on a loop.

Junot Díaz: How I Write |Noah Charney |August 21, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Instead of thinking of a sharp distinction between "Roman" and "barbarian," we should think in terms of economic zones.

David's Book Club: Empires and Barbarians |David Frum |January 6, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
What can explain Morris's insistence in continuing to describe whole cultures and societies as "barbarian"?

A Second Response to Benny Morris |Daniel Levy |April 24, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Lastly, Levy objects to my occasional use, in the past, of the word "barbarian".

A Response to Daniel Levy |Benny Morris |April 17, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

The idea is, hold back the barbarian hordes, and excise the cancerous growth that is sucking the lifeblood from our economy.

The Hypocritical War on 'Illegals' |Chris Weitz |October 29, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
The cookies resting joyfully in their barbarian young stomachs could not very well be restored.

Chicken Little Jane |Lily Munsell Ritchie
A man without learning and surrounded by barbarian soldiers, Mehemet Ali appears before the world as nature made him.

History Of Egypt From 330 B.C. To The Present Time, Volume 12 (of 12) |S. Rappoport
I am afraid I'm a bit of a barbarian, and don't reckon with them as reverently as I ought.

The Gateless Barrier |Lucas Malet
They dwell under the painted lodge of the barbarian, and they burn even in the heart of the benighted heathen.

The Infidel, Vol. II. |Robert Montgomery Bird
People thought themselves dreaming till the enormous head of the bull 15 began to turn in the iron hands of the barbarian.

Story Hour Readings: Seventh Year |E.C. Hartwell

British Dictionary definitions for barbarian

barbarian

/ (bɑːˈbɛərɪən) /

noun

a member of a primitive or uncivilized people

a coarse, insensitive, or uncultured person

a vicious person

adjective

of an uncivilized culture

insensitive, uncultured, or brutal

Derived forms of barbarian

barbarianism, noun

Word Origin for barbarian

C16: see barbarous

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

barbarian

noun

adjective

Origin of barbarian

SYNONYMS FOR barbarian

ANTONYMS FOR barbarian

synonym study for barbarian

OTHER WORDS FROM barbarian

Words nearby barbarian

Example sentences from the Web for barbarian

British Dictionary definitions for barbarian

noun

adjective

Derived forms of barbarian

Word Origin for barbarian

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

barbarian

noun

adjective

Origin of barbarian

SYNONYMS FOR barbarian

ANTONYMS FOR barbarian

synonym study for barbarian

OTHER WORDS FROM barbarian

Words nearby barbarian

Words related to barbarian

Example sentences from the Web for barbarian

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for barbarian

noun

adjective

Derived forms of barbarian

Word Origin for barbarian

British Dictionary definitions for barbarian