barbarize

[ bahr-buh-rahyz ]
See synonyms for barbarize on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),bar·ba·rized, bar·ba·riz·ing.
  1. to make barbarous; brutalize; corrupt: foreign influences barbarizing the Latin language.

verb (used without object),bar·ba·rized, bar·ba·riz·ing.
  1. to become barbarous; lapse into barbarism.

  2. to use barbarisms in speaking or writing.

Origin of barbarize

1
1635–45; partly <Greek barbarízein, equivalent to bárbar(os) barbarian + -izein-ize; partly barbar(ous) + -ize
  • Also especially British, bar·ba·rise .

Other words from barbarize

  • bar·ba·ri·za·tion, noun
  • de·bar·ba·rize, verb (used with object), de·bar·ba·rized, de·bar·ba·riz·ing.
  • un·bar·ba·rize, verb (used with object), un·bar·ba·rized, un·bar·ba·riz·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use barbarize in a sentence

  • And side by side with the barbarization of the army goes the barbarization of civil manners too.

    Medieval People | Eileen Edna Power

British Dictionary definitions for barbarize

barbarize

barbarise

/ (ˈbɑːbəˌraɪz) /


verb
  1. to make or become barbarous

  2. to use barbarisms in (language)

Derived forms of barbarize

  • barbarization or barbarisation, noun

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