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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Recent Examples of barbarity
His observations about the barbarity of women’s beauty regimens aren’t exactly new, but they are acted out with enthusiasm and verve.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
Under such regimes, the state uses indiscriminate barbarity to instill constant terror in the population.
—Elizabeth Tsurkov, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
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
Netanyahu is the excuse for staying silent about Israeli barbarity in Palestine.
—Uriel Kon
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarity
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2026
Under such regimes, the state uses indiscriminate barbarity to instill constant terror in the population.
—Elizabeth Tsurkov, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
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
Netanyahu is the excuse for staying silent about Israeli barbarity in Palestine.
—Uriel Kon
september 2, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barbarity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barbarity
Noun
-
Initially, the couple was arrested on charges of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree unlawful restraint, intentional cruelty to persons, risk of injury to a minor and conspiracy to commit risk of injury to a minor.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
-
There was a particular cruelty in having lived with her hearing for 28 years before losing it.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The result is that many people with civil claims are effectively unable to use the court system to help with such complaints as an abusive work environment, racial discrimination, environmental violations, police brutality or other issues handled by the federal courts.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Something natural decay shares with human indifference and brutality—war, waste, and rot, literal and metaphorical.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barbarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarity. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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