barbarous

[ bahr-ber-uhs ]
See synonyms for barbarous on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. uncivilized; wild; savage; crude.

  2. savagely cruel or harsh: The prisoners of war were given barbarous treatment.

  1. full of harsh sounds; noisy; discordant: an evening of wild and barbarous music.

  2. not conforming to classical standards or accepted usage, as language.

  3. foreign; alien.

  4. (among ancient Greeks) designating a person or thing of non-Greek origin.

Origin of barbarous

1
1400–50; late Middle English <Latin barbarus<Greek bárbaros non-Greek, foreign, barbarian; akin to Sanskrit barbara stammering, non-Aryan; see -ous

synonym study For barbarous

1. See barbarian.

Other words for barbarous

Other words from barbarous

  • bar·ba·rous·ly, adverb
  • bar·ba·rous·ness, noun
  • hy·per·bar·bar·ous, adjective
  • hy·per·bar·bar·ous·ly, adverb
  • hy·per·bar·bar·ous·ness, noun
  • non·bar·ba·rous, adjective
  • non·bar·ba·rous·ly, adverb
  • non·bar·ba·rous·ness, noun
  • pre·bar·ba·rous, adjective
  • pre·bar·ba·rous·ly, adverb
  • pre·bar·ba·rous·ness, noun
  • un·bar·ba·rous, adjective
  • un·bar·ba·rous·ly, adverb
  • un·bar·ba·rous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use barbarous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for barbarous

barbarous

/ (ˈbɑːbərəs) /


adjective
  1. uncivilized; primitive

  2. brutal or cruel

  1. lacking refinement

Origin of barbarous

1
C15: via Latin from Greek barbaros barbarian, non-Greek, in origin imitative of incomprehensible speech; compare Sanskrit barbara stammering, non-Aryan

Derived forms of barbarous

  • barbarously, adverb
  • barbarousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012