BARBARITY Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

barbarity

noun

bär-ˈber-ə-tē

Definition of barbarity

as in cruelty

disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others more than one reluctant dental patient has been tempted to level the charge of barbarity against their dentist

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of barbarity Thousands of children have been terrorized, detained, and many have been deported because of ICE’s unchecked barbarity. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2026 Even when there is little to celebrate in a world marked by barbarity, these events invite us to be together and, briefly, to look, feel, admire, and even disagree within a temporary gathering of images and spaces. — Raphael Fonseca, Artforum, 2 Apr. 2026 The Geneva Conventions, international treaties that aim to limit the barbarities of war, stipulate that those unable to take part in hostilities must be protected. — Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Dec. 2025 Pritam’s Partition writings offer incisive critiques of the barbarity that became life with borders but also contest notions of belonging from a feminist perspective. — JSTOR Daily, 30 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for barbarity

Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarity

Noun

According to the Sheriff’s Office, a judge released Cruz on his own recognizance June 4 following his arraignment on felony animal cruelty charges in Sacramento Superior Court.

— Velvet Wu July 1, Sacbee.com, 2 July 2026
At one point, the narrator, embarrassed by his own act of cruelty, gives a sobbing woman all his money and then leaves her alone in a hotel room.

— Hannah Jocelyn, New Yorker, 1 July 2026

Definition of cruelty

Noun

Lee learned much about the systemic oppression that Black Americans faced from his first student, Jesse Glover, who had been a victim of police brutality.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026
These early precedents in fictional brutality also weaken Thomson’s next point, about literature’s superiority.

— Michael O’Donnell, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026

Definition of brutality

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barbarism

barbarity

barbarous

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“Barbarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarity. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of barbarity

noun

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