uncivilized

[uhn-siv-uh-lahyzd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR uncivilized ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not civilized or cultured; barbarous.

Origin of uncivilized

First recorded in 1600–10; un-¹ + civilized

Related formsun·civ·i·liz·ed·ly

[uhn-siv-uh-lahy-zid-lee, -lahyzd-] /ʌnˈsɪv əˌlaɪ zɪd li, -ˌlaɪzd-/, adverbun·civ·i·liz·ed·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for uncivilized

boorish, barbarous, rude, disrespectful, vulgar, churlish, impolite, barbaric, unconscionable, barbarian, coarse, crass, crude, discourteous, gross, impertinent, loutish, outrageous, primitive, rugged

Examples from the Web for uncivilized

Contemporary Examples of uncivilized

PREA was designed to fight back against the uncivilized nightmare we let flourish inside our prison walls.
America’s Prison System: Not Faring Well Either
James Poulos
April 5, 2014
While we watch fires ablaze in the Middle East and judge other peoples as uncivilized, have we not lost civilization here?
Mark McKinnon: Our Overly Political Response to Mideast Crisis
Mark McKinnon
September 17, 2012
I took her out for gin and tried to get her to smoke pot, but she thought all of that was uncivilized.
Roseanne Barr Hails the Comedic Genius of Phyllis Diller
Roseanne Barr
August 21, 2012

Historical Examples of uncivilized

He also brought in English workmen to teach the uncivilized Danes.
Historical Tales, Vol. 9 (of 15)
Charles Morris
All in turn partook of the smoke of the weed which both the civilized and uncivilized man have prized so highly.
The Adventures of the Chevalier De La Salle and His Companions, in Their Explorations of the Prairies, Forests, Lakes, and Rivers, of the New World, and Their Interviews with the Savage Tribes, Two Hundred Years Ago
John S. C. Abbott
Ah, those masses of people--unintelligent, superstitious, uncivilized!
This Simian World
Clarence Day
I have traveled among the uncivilized inhabitants of America.
The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories
Mark Twain
There is nothing like a reception in any uncivilized country.
The Complete Essays of C. D. Warner
Charles Dudley Warner

British Dictionary definitions for uncivilized

uncivilized

uncivilised

adjective

(of a tribe or people) not yet civilized, esp preliterate

lacking culture or sophistication

Derived Formsuncivilizedly or uncivilisedly (ʌnˈsɪvɪˌlaɪzɪdlɪ), adverbuncivilizedness or uncivilisedness, 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

Word Origin and History for uncivilized

adj.

c.1600, "barbarous," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of civilize. Uncivil in the same sense is recorded from 1550s.