barbarous
Cruel and primitive
Barbarous describes behavior or conditions that are savagely cruel or primitive: barbarous treatment of prisoners, barbarous acts of violence.
The word suggests a lack of civilization or basic human decency.
It can also mean culturally backward or unrefined, though this older sense now sounds condescending.
The conditions in the camp were barbarous.
Fierce and untamed
- ruthlessLacking any compassion
- mercilessShowing no clemency
- pitilessLacking any compassion
- ferociousExtremely violent or aggressive
bloodthirsty · murderous · inhuman · cold-blooded · sadistic · monstrous · fiendish · heinous
In earliest form
- uncouthLacking good manners
- boorishCrudely ill-mannered
- unculturedLacking refinement or education
- coarseRough in texture
crude · vulgar · unrefined · unsophisticated · philistine · ill-mannered · rude · wild
Very old indeed
- tribalOf a clan
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- archaicBelonging to earlier times
- premodernBefore recent centuries
stone-age · nomadic · ancestral · aboriginal · indigenous · early · untamed · wild
Crossed bars or harsh
- jarringDisturbingly incongruous
- stridentHarsh and piercing
- cacophonousHarsh and jarring
- discordantLacking musical agreement
raucous · dissonant · abrasive · unmelodious · offensive · crude · unpolished · inelegant
savage
Fierce and untamed
ferocious · bloodthirsty · murderous · inhuman · cold-blooded · sadistic · monstrous · fiendish · heinous · atrocious
primitive
In earliest form
- uncouthLacking good manners
- boorishCrudely ill-mannered
- unculturedLacking refinement or education
coarse · crude · vulgar · unrefined · unsophisticated · philistine · ill-mannered · rude · wild · heathen
ancient
Very old indeed
- tribalOf a clan
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- archaicBelonging to earlier times
premodern · stone-age · nomadic · ancestral · aboriginal · indigenous · early · untamed · wild · frontier
grating
Crossed bars or harsh
- jarringDisturbingly incongruous
- stridentHarsh and piercing
- cacophonousHarsh and jarring
discordant · raucous · dissonant · abrasive · unmelodious · offensive · crude · unpolished · inelegant · coarse
barbarouscivilized
Socially developed and refined
civilised · cultured · sophisticated · refined · educated
barbaroushumane
Marked by kindness
merciful · compassionate · kind · gentle · benevolent