adj
barbaric
bah-BA-rihk
adj
1
Extremely cruel, brutal, or uncivilized.
"The prison conditions were condemned as barbaric."
"Critics called the punishment barbaric and outdated."
How to Use Barbaric
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishShockingly cruel or savage, especially in a way that seems primitive or inhumane.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
barbaric practice
barbaric cruelty
Word Forms
more barbaric comparative, most barbaric superlative
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Etymology
From Latin barbaricus, from Greek barbarikos, from barbaros ("barbarian, foreigner").