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barbarity

American  
[bahr-bar-i-tee] / bɑrˈbær ɪ ti /

noun

plural

barbarities

  1. brutal or inhuman conduct; cruelty.

  2. an act or instance of cruelty or inhumanity.

  3. crudity of style, taste, expression, etc.

barbarity British  
/ bɑːˈbærɪtɪ /

noun

  1. the state or condition of being barbaric or barbarous

  2. a brutal or vicious act

  3. a crude or unsophisticated quality, style, expression, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of barbarity

1560–70; < Latin barbar ( us ) ( barbarous ) + -ity

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"No one cares about us", Najdi lamented, calling on "everyone who can to exert pressure to stop this barbarity".

From Barron's

"It is within our power to stop the war, to stop the barbarity, and to win rights," she said.

From Barron's

Having fashioned a creature from dead body parts, the scientist recoils from the result, which appears to him to be a monster of “unparalleled barbarity,” and abandons his construction.

From The Wall Street Journal

The sheer barbarity of these scenes may explain why they haven’t garnered more attention.

From Los Angeles Times

"The comedy of manners plays with the mores of civilization; it can lose its charm when civilisation succumbs to barbarity. In life, as in comedy, timing is essential."

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.