as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
more than one reluctant dental patient has been tempted to level the charge of barbarity against their dentist
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Recent Examples of barbarity
The Russian president also encouraged acts of barbarity against his critics.
—
Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2022
Putin’s quasi-genocidal barbarities in Ukraine and Xi’s industrial-scale repression in Xinjiang threaten to restore a world of autocratic impunity and rampant atrocity.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Although lynchings have steadily increased in number and barbarity during the last twenty years, there has been no single effort put forth by the many moral and philanthropic forces of the country to put a stop to this wholesale slaughter.
—Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 21 Feb. 2025
The dehumanizing treatment prisoners received on Devil’s Island was, in effect, a continuation of the barbarity long inflicted on French Guiana’s enslaved population.
—Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 13 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for barbarity
Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2022
Putin’s quasi-genocidal barbarities in Ukraine and Xi’s industrial-scale repression in Xinjiang threaten to restore a world of autocratic impunity and rampant atrocity.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Although lynchings have steadily increased in number and barbarity during the last twenty years, there has been no single effort put forth by the many moral and philanthropic forces of the country to put a stop to this wholesale slaughter.
—Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 21 Feb. 2025
The dehumanizing treatment prisoners received on Devil’s Island was, in effect, a continuation of the barbarity long inflicted on French Guiana’s enslaved population.
—Rob Crossan, JSTOR Daily, 13 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for barbarity
Cite this Entry
“Barbarity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barbarity. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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