barbarian C2+ Topic:People & Society US /bɑːrˈbɛriən/ UK /bɑːˈbeəriən/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun an uncivilized or savage person; brutish The historians described the invaders as barbarian hordes. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · an uncivilized or savage... savagebruteheathenboorphilistinevandal ↔ Opposites civilizedcultivatedrefined Word family Derived forms barbarianism Related forms barbaricbarbarousbarbaritybarbarism Etymology AI details From Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek barbaros ('foreign, non-Greek'), imitative of unintelligible foreign speech heard as 'bar-bar'. barbarus Latin barbaros Ancient Greek View etymology graph -> Topics People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # barbarian **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /bɑːrˈbɛriən/ **IPA (UK):** /bɑːˈbeəriən/ ## Meanings 1. an uncivilized or savage person; brutish ## Examples - The historians described the invaders as barbarian hordes. ## Synonyms - savage - brute - heathen - boor - philistine - vandal ## Antonyms - civilized - cultivated - refined ## Derived Forms - barbarianism ## Related Forms - barbaric - barbarous - barbarity - barbarism ## Roots and Affixes - Root: barbarus - Root: barbaros ## Etymology From Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek barbaros ('foreign, non-Greek'), imitative of unintelligible foreign speech heard as 'bar-bar'. ## AI Etymology Barbarian is from Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek barbaros ('foreign, non-Greek'), imitative of unintelligible foreign speech heard as 'bar-bar'. Important recorded forms include barbarus (Latin) and barbaros (Ancient Greek). The current sense covers an uncivilized or savage person; brutish. The wider family includes derived forms such as barbarianism and related words such as barbaric, barbarous, barbarity, and barbarism. ## Topics - People & Society - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown