There is in all barbarian communities a profound sense of the disparity between man's and woman's work.
Source: tatoeba (425465)
Barbarian
/bɑɹˈbɛəɹ.i.ən/
Synonyms for "barbarian" (149 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (30)
Strong matches (45)
Related words (74)
man-eatermercilessneanderthalnihilistnoncivilizedoafoafishoutlandoutlanderoutlandishoutlawoutsideoutsiderphilistineprimitivepunkrefugeeroughrough-and-readyrude
Show 36 more words
Noun(14 words)
Adjective(4 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: foreigner, savage, aboriginal, alien, animal.
- Sentence evidence is available for barbarian, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, opengloss, wordnet, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "barbarian".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "barbarian"
Keep "barbarian" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "barbarian" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "barbarian", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "barbarian" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
11 entriesdescriptive termdisagreeable personhuman beingindividualnegative qualifierpejorative descriptorpersonprimitiveprimitive personqualifierunpleasant person
More specific
16 entriesCollocations
10 entriesbarbarian behaviorbarbarian culturebarbarian hordesbarbarian invasionbarbarian languagebarbarian rhetoricbarbarian rulerbarbarian tribebarbarian tribesbarbarian warfare
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
7 entriessimilar
2 entriesTranslations
122 translations across 60 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- barbaar noun (uncivilized person)
Albanian
1 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
Ancient Greek
1 entries- βάρβαρος noun (uncivilized person)
Arabic
2 entries- بَرْبَرِيّ noun (uncivilized person)
- هَمَجِيّ noun (uncivilized person)
Armenian
1 entries- բարբարոս noun (uncivilized person)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
Belarusian
4 entries- ба́рбар noun (uncivilized person)
- ба́рбарка noun (uncivilized person)
- ва́рвар noun (uncivilized person)
- ва́рварка noun (uncivilized person)
Bulgarian
4 entries- ва́рварин noun (uncivilized person)
- ва́рварка noun (uncivilized person)
- дива́к noun (uncivilized person)
- дива́чка noun (uncivilized person)
Catalan
1 entries- bàrbar noun (uncivilized person)
Chinese Mandarin
4 entries- 夷 noun (uncivilized person)
- 番子 noun (uncivilized person)
- 蠻人 /蛮人 noun (uncivilized person)
- 野蠻人 /野蛮人 noun (uncivilized person)
Czech
2 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
- barbarka noun (uncivilized person)
Danish
1 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
Dutch
1 entries- barbaar noun (uncivilized person)
Esperanto
1 entries- barbaro noun (uncivilized person)
Estonian
1 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
Finnish
2 entries- barbaari noun (uncivilized person)
- raakalainen noun (uncivilized person)
French
1 entries- barbare noun (uncivilized person)
Galician
2 entries- bárbara noun (uncivilized person)
- bárbaro noun (uncivilized person)
Georgian
1 entries- ბარბაროსი noun (uncivilized person)
German
2 entries- Barbar noun (uncivilized person)
- Barbarin noun (uncivilized person)
Greek
1 entries- βάρβαρος noun (uncivilized person)
Hindi
1 entries- बर्बर noun (uncivilized person)
Hungarian
1 entries- barbár noun (uncivilized person)
Icelandic
1 entries- barbari noun (uncivilized person)
Irish
1 entries- barbarach noun (uncivilized person)
Italian
2 entries- barbara noun (uncivilized person)
- barbaro noun (uncivilized person)
Japanese
4 entries- 夷人 noun (uncivilized person)
- 蛮人 noun (uncivilized person)
- 野蛮 noun (uncivilized person)
- 野蛮人 noun (uncivilized person)
Kazakh
1 entries- варвар noun (uncivilized person)
Korean
2 entries- 야만인 noun (uncivilized person)
- 오랑캐 noun (uncivilized person)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- варвар noun (uncivilized person)
Lao
1 entries- ອະນາລະຍະຊົນ noun (uncivilized person)
Latin
2 entries- barbara noun (uncivilized person)
- barbarus noun (uncivilized person)
Latvian
1 entries- barbars noun (uncivilized person)
Lithuanian
1 entries- barbaras noun (uncivilized person)
Macedonian
3 entries- варвар noun (uncivilized person)
- варварин noun (uncivilized person)
- варварка noun (uncivilized person)
Māori
1 entries- moho(w)ao noun (uncivilized person)
Norman
1 entries- barbare noun (uncivilized person)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
Persian
1 entries- بربر noun (uncivilized person)
Polish
4 entries- barbarzynka noun (uncivilized person)
- barbarzyńca noun (uncivilized person)
- dzikus noun (uncivilized person)
- dzikuska noun (uncivilized person)
Portuguese
2 entries- bárbara noun (uncivilized person)
- bárbaro noun (uncivilized person)
Romanian
4 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
- barbară noun (uncivilized person)
- varvar noun (uncivilized person)
- varvară noun (uncivilized person)
Russian
4 entries- ва́рвар noun (uncivilized person)
- ва́рварка noun (uncivilized person)
- дика́рка noun (uncivilized person)
- дика́рь noun (uncivilized person)
Sanskrit
3 entries- दस्यु noun (uncivilized person)
- बर्बर noun (uncivilized person)
- म्लेच्छ noun (uncivilized person)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- bàrbar noun (uncivilized person)
- bàrbārka noun (uncivilized person)
- bȁrbarin noun (uncivilized person)
- divljàkinja noun (uncivilized person)
Slovak
2 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
- barbarka noun (uncivilized person)
Slovene
2 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
- barbarka noun (uncivilized person)
Spanish
2 entries- bárbara noun (uncivilized person)
- bárbaro noun (uncivilized person)
Swahili
1 entries- mshenzi noun (uncivilized person)
Swedish
1 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
Tajik
1 entries- барбар noun (uncivilized person)
Thai
1 entries- อนารยชน noun (uncivilized person)
Turkish
1 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
Ukrainian
4 entries- ва́рвар noun (uncivilized person)
- ва́рварка noun (uncivilized person)
- дику́н noun (uncivilized person)
- дику́нка noun (uncivilized person)
Uzbek
2 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
- varvar noun (uncivilized person)
Vietnamese
2 entries- mọi noun (uncivilized person)
- rợ noun (uncivilized person)
Welsh
2 entries- anwariad noun (uncivilized person)
- barbariad noun (uncivilized person)
Yiddish
1 entries- באַרבאַר noun (uncivilized person)
Zazaki
1 entries- barbar noun (uncivilized person)
Sample sentences
12 total sentences available.
The ownership of women begins in the lower barbarian stages of culture, apparently with the seizure of female captives. The original reason for the seizure and appropriation of women seems to have been their usefulness as trophies.
Source: tatoeba (425482)
The barbarian is, first and foremost, the man who believes in barbarianism.
Source: tatoeba (679958)
My level 9 barbarian has died.
Source: tatoeba (910645)
Showing 4 of 12 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "barbarian"?
Closest matches include foreigner, savage, aboriginal, alien, animal.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "barbarian"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.