barbarian
23
6.4
- noun
- /bɑrˈbɛriən/
- Offensive
:
bestia
- They're complete barbarians.
- barbarian and civilized
- uncivilized barbarians
- savage barbarians
I really am kind of a barbarian in relation to them.
- I really am kind of a barbarian in relation to them.
- We had no laws, we were Barbarians, savages.
Examples
-
You call yourself a barbarian?
-
You are an uncultured barbarian.
-
I really am kind of a barbarian in relation to them.
-
But, you do look like a barbarian.
-
And they call me a barbarian.
-
We evolved from beast to savage to barbarian to human being.
Fiction book (1991) -
Trudy decided she would go to her grave a barbarian before she would learn to like this stuff.
Fiction book (1992) -
We're not barbarians.
-
You're a barbarian.
-
He acts like a barbarian whenever he attends formal events, showing no understanding of etiquette.
Synonyms
24
6.0
Using physical force without thought or care
23
5.3
A rude person who is seen as having bad manners and used as an insult
2
8.3
A rude person who shows little respect for others
1
9.9
A person who is rude and selfish to other people
1
9.9
A rude person who has poor manners
1
9.9
A rude or uncultured person used as an insult in older speech
A rude person with bad manners
Antonyms
Compounds
- Literature
A strong, rough warrior from an ancient society who is the main character in stories
How Civilized
80
4.4
5
5.1
- Offensive
23
6.4
- Offensive
16
5.9
- Slur
23
7.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
barbarian = barbar + ian
Formed from a non‑productive borrowed root 'barbar' plus the suffix '-ian'; the base is not a recognizable English word, so learners cannot reliably derive the meaning from components.
Etymology
Barbarian comes from the Greek barbaros, which copied the sound bar-bar that foreign speech made to Greek ears, like 'nonsense'. So a barbarian came to mean a person seen as rough, crude, or without culture or good manners.