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Barabbas

American  
[buh-rab-uhs] / bəˈræb əs /

noun

  1. (in the Bible) a condemned criminal pardoned by Pilate in order to appease the mob, which demanded that he be freed instead of Jesus.


Barabbas British  
/ bəˈræbəs /

noun

  1. New Testament a condemned robber who was released at the Passover instead of Jesus (Matthew 27:16)

"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

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

The "family friendly" show had been described as "a darkly imaginative, richly rendered fantasy story", and had been written by playwright Zinnie Harris with music by Louis Barabbas.

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2025

“A Hum San Sui,” by Kentaro Kujirai and Barabbas Okuyama, the Japanese choreographers and performers, seemed ill-served by film.

From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2022

Performance is the thing: a puppet show of Jesus and Barabbas, and a further work based on the sprawling Odd Man Out, which Chetwynd first performed last year.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 1, 2012

But producers also continued casting Borgnine in action films such as "Three Bad Men," "The Vikings," "Torpedo Run," "Barabbas," "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Wild Bunch."

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 8, 2012

Barabbas had entrusted the Son of the Desert with that mission.

From In Both Worlds by William Henry Holcombe

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