barbarian

[ bahr-bair-ee-uhn ]

noun

1. a person in a savage, primitive state; uncivilized person.
2. a person without culture, refinement, or education; philistine.
3. (loosely) a foreigner.
4. (in ancient and medieval periods)
   1. a non-Greek.
   2. a person living outside, especially north of, the Roman Empire.
   3. a person not living in a Christian country or within a Christian civilization.
5. (among Italians during the Renaissance) a person of non-Italian origin.

adjective

1. uncivilized; crude; savage.

   Synonyms: uncultivated, ignorant, coarse, barbaric, rough, wild, primitive, rude

   Antonyms: civilized, cultivated

2. foreign; alien.

barbarian

/ bɑːˈbɛərɪən /

noun

1. a member of a primitive or uncivilized people
2. a coarse, insensitive, or uncultured person
3. a vicious person

adjective

1. of an uncivilized culture
2. insensitive, uncultured, or brutal

Derived Forms

• barˈbarianism, noun

Other Words From

• bar·bari·an·ism noun
• half-bar·bari·an adjective
• nonbar·bari·an adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of barbarian¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin barbari(a) “barbarous country” ( barbarous, -ia ) + -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of barbarian¹

C16: see barbarous

Synonym Study

Barbarian, barbaric, barbarous pertain to uncivilized people. Barbarian is the general word for anything uncivilized: a barbarian tribe. Barbaric has both unfavorable and mildly favorable connotations, implying crudeness of taste or practice, or conveying an idea of rude magnificence and splendor: barbaric noise. Barbarous emphasizes the inhumanity and cruelty of barbarian life: barbarous customs.