barbarism
Uncivilized cruel conduct
Barbarism is uncivilized or brutal behavior—cruelty, savagery, or cultural crudeness: the barbarisms of war, acts of barbarism against civilians.
In grammar and rhetoric, a barbarism is a word or expression considered incorrect or nonstandard, like a mispronunciation or foreign intrusion into proper usage.
The term carries judgment: what counts as barbarism depends on who's drawing the line between civilized and savage.
Deliberate harm-causing disposition
- savageryExtreme, violent cruelty
- atrocityUnforgivable mass cruelty
- violenceHarmful physical force
- inhumanityExtreme cruelty toward others
ferocity · bloodshed · massacre · torture · mutilation · carnage · slaughter · viciousness
Disrespectful social behavior
- coarsenessRough or vulgar quality
- vulgarityOffensive coarseness in manner
- boorishnessCrude, uncouth conduct
- uncouthnessLack of polish
crudeness · crassness · tactlessness · roughness · gruffness · brusqueness · discourtesy · indelicacy
Grammatical or social blunder
- grammatical errorIncorrect language structure
- nonstandardDeparting from established norms
- improprietyUnsuitable or inappropriate behavior
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
vulgarism · colloquialism · neologism · malapropism · ungrammatical
State of being undeveloped
- uncivilizedLacking social graces
- savagesUncivilized or brutal people
- tribalismIn-group loyalty, out-group hostility
- heathenismNon-monotheistic religious practice
paganism · wildness · lawlessness · anarchy · dark ages · untamed · unenlightened · barbarians
Unjust exercise of power
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
- injusticeDenial of fair treatment
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
- tormentSevere prolonged suffering
discrimination · harassment · enslavement · subjugation · extermination · deportation · imprisonment · exploitation
cruelty
Deliberate harm-causing disposition
inhumanity · ferocity · bloodshed · massacre · torture · mutilation · carnage · slaughter · viciousness · ruthlessness
rudeness
Disrespectful social behavior
- coarsenessRough or vulgar quality
- vulgarityOffensive coarseness in manner
- boorishnessCrude, uncouth conduct
uncouthness · crudeness · crassness · tactlessness · roughness · gruffness · brusqueness · discourtesy · indelicacy · churlishness
solecism
Grammatical or social blunder
- grammatical errorIncorrect language structure
- nonstandardDeparting from established norms
- improprietyUnsuitable or inappropriate behavior
corruption · vulgarism · colloquialism · neologism · malapropism · ungrammatical
backwardness
State of being undeveloped
- uncivilizedLacking social graces
- savagesUncivilized or brutal people
- tribalismIn-group loyalty, out-group hostility
heathenism · paganism · wildness · lawlessness · anarchy · dark ages · untamed · unenlightened · barbarians · Vandals
oppression
Unjust exercise of power
- tyrannyOppressive, absolute governance
- injusticeDenial of fair treatment
- abuseCruel or violent treatment
torment · discrimination · harassment · enslavement · subjugation · extermination · deportation · imprisonment · exploitation · dehumanization
- colonialismcolony, colonization, colonial rule, colonial powers, colonizer
- crueltycruelty, brutality, inhumanity, viciousness, ruthlessness
- savagerybrutality, brutishness, cruelty, ferocity, fierceness
- violenceviolence, physical attack, brutality, physical violence, aggression
- social evolutionsocial evolution, cultural evolution, social progress, social development, Morgan
- Frankfurt SchoolWalter Benjamin, critical theory, nonidentity, constellation
barbarismcivilization
Advanced organized human society
civility · enlightenment · culture · progress · advancement
barbarismhumanity
People as a whole
humaneness · compassion · kindness · benevolence · mercy
barbarismrefinement
Elegance of manner
cultivation · elegance · sophistication · polish · courtliness
- barbarian tribesPeoples outside civilization's borders
- barbarian raidsAttacks by uncivilized tribes
- barbarian kingdomsPost-imperial Germanic polities
barbaric, barbarian, barbarity, barbarically, barbarisms, barbarities, barbarianism, barbarized, barbarization