barbarous C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈbɑrbərəs/ UK /ˈbɑːbərəs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj savagely cruel; uncivilized or coarse The barbarous treatment of prisoners shocked the world. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · savagely cruel; uncivilized... savagebrutalcrueluncivilizedbarbaricbrutishcoarse ↔ Opposites civilizedhumanerefinedgentle Word family Forms barbarously Derived forms barbarouslybarbarousness Related forms barbarianbarbaricbarbaritybarbarism Etymology AI details From Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek barbaros ('foreign, non-Greek-speaking'), an imitation of unintelligible foreign babble. barbarus Latin barbaros Ancient Greek View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # barbarous **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈbɑrbərəs/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈbɑːbərəs/ ## Meanings 1. savagely cruel; uncivilized or coarse ## Examples - The barbarous treatment of prisoners shocked the world. ## Synonyms - savage - brutal - cruel - uncivilized - barbaric - brutish - coarse ## Antonyms - civilized - humane - refined - gentle ## Derived Forms - barbarously - barbarousness ## Related Forms - barbarian - barbaric - barbarity - barbarism ## Roots and Affixes - Root: barbarus - Root: barbaros ## Etymology From Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek barbaros ('foreign, non-Greek-speaking'), an imitation of unintelligible foreign babble. ## AI Etymology Barbarous is from Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek barbaros ('foreign, non-Greek-speaking'), an imitation of unintelligible foreign babble. In present-day use, it means savagely cruel; uncivilized or coarse. Derived formations include barbarously and barbarousness. Related vocabulary includes barbarian, barbaric, barbarity, and barbarism. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown