barbarous

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˈbɑrbərəs/ UK /ˈbɑːbərəs/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
savagely cruel; uncivilized or coarse

The barbarous treatment of prisoners shocked the world.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · savagely cruel; uncivilized... savage brutal cruel uncivilized barbaric brutish coarse

Opposites

civilized humane refined gentle

Word family

Forms barbarously

Derived forms barbarouslybarbarousness

Related forms barbarian barbaric barbarity barbarism

Etymology

From Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek barbaros ('foreign, non-Greek-speaking'), an imitation of unintelligible foreign babble.

barbarus Latin barbaros Ancient Greek

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Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# 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 People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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barbarous

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