noun / adjective
barbarian
bar-BAIR-ee-un/bɑːrˈberiən/
A person regarded as outside civilized society.
The onlookers recoil as the barbarian smashes a carefully made sculpture.
Etymology
The idea of belonging to a foreign people developed into a judgment about culture. A label for someone outside Greek or Roman society became a term for a rude, uncivilized person.
In context
The barbarian is still just standing there like a post, watching the massacre with the mild interest of someone watching paint dry.
More examples
- The empire dismissed neighboring peoples as barbarian.
- She jokingly called him a barbarian for eating with his hands.
- The historian questioned who was being labeled a barbarian.
Forms
barbarian · barbarians
Similar words
- outsider
- Indicates exclusion without necessarily judging someone uncivilized.
- brute
- Emphasizes cruelty or lack of sensitivity rather than cultural difference.