barbarity

noun

bar·​bar·​i·​ty bär-ˈber-ə-tē How to pronounce barbarity (audio)
-ˈba-rə-
plural barbarities
1
2
a
: barbarous cruelty : inhumanity
b
: an act or instance of such cruelty

Examples of barbarity in a Sentence

The barbarity of the attack was horrifying. The photos vividly capture the war's barbarity. He is accused of inflicting unimaginable barbarities on his own people.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the face of tragedy and crisis and inequality and barbarity, artists make work. Chadd Scott, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024 Italy’s solitary-confinement policy—a regulation called carcere duro, or hard prison—is controversial in northern Europe, where it is seen as an example of southern barbarity. D. T. Max, The New Yorker, 23 Sep. 2024 Numerous political leaders were prosecuted for barbarities in the Balkans and Rwanda, but those tribunals were established by the Security Council, where Russia has a veto. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune Europe, 18 June 2024 Fanon persists in the activist imagination as a kind of radical soothsayer, an intellectual who can speak authoritatively about our moment because of his identity as a Black man and colonial subject who personally experienced the barbarity of a colonizing power. Vulture Editors, Vulture, 4 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for barbarity 

Word History

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of barbarity was in 1566

Dictionary Entries Near barbarity

Cite this Entry

“Barbarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/barbarity. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

barbarity

noun
bar·​bar·​i·​ty bär-ˈbar-ət-ē How to pronounce barbarity (audio)
plural barbarities
1
2
b
: a cruel act

More from Merriam-Webster on barbarity

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!