Barbarism

//ˈbɑɹbəˈɹɪzm̩// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A barbaric act. countable, uncountable

    "These barbarisms can not be allowed to continue; they must be crushed or civilization will collapse."

  2. 2
    a brutal barbarous savage act wordnet
  3. 3
    The condition of existing barbarically. countable, uncountable

    "Like dancing, it is a remnant of ancient barbarism—fit for the days of the Chaldeans or the Babylonians, when people were only amused through their eyes—the sole entertainment of which savage nations are susceptible."

  4. 4
    A word hybridizing Ancient Greek and Latin or other heterogeneous roots. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    An error in language use within a single word, such as a mispronunciation. countable, uncountable

    "In the jargon of the ancient grammarian, penacilin would be a barbarism."

Synonyms

All synonyms
brutalityage of ignoranceanimalityantiphrasisbad tastebarbarity

Example

More examples

"Each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice."

More for "barbarism"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.