What does barbarize mean?
Barbarize is a formal verb meaning to make someone or something barbarous — that is, to reduce a person, society, or culture to a state regarded as cruel, crude, or uncivilized. It can also be used intransitively to describe the process of lapsing into such a state. The word derives from 'barbarous,' which traces back through Latin 'barbarus' to Greek 'barbaros,' the term ancient Greeks applied to foreigners whose language sounded like unintelligible babbling. Because of this lineage, 'barbarize' inherently connotes decline from a higher standard of civilization or refinement. It appears chiefly in historical, literary, and moral commentary — for instance, describing how warfare brutalizes combatants or how invading forces degrade a conquered culture. Its negative charge makes it a pointed choice: to say a people have been barbarized is to assert not merely hardship but genuine cultural and moral degradation. Closely related words include 'barbarism,' 'barbarity,' and 'barbarian.'
To make barbarous or uncivilized; to deprive a person, group, culture, or language of its civility or refinement.
"The critics claimed that cheap mass entertainment was barbarizing public taste."
Most frequently used transitively; the rarer intransitive sense describes undergoing the process.
To become barbarous or uncivilized.
"As trade collapsed and schools closed, the isolated settlement gradually barbarized."
This intransitive sense is considerably less common than the transitive use.
The ancient Greeks coined the word 'barbaros' for anyone who didn't speak their language — literally someone whose speech sounded like 'bar-bar,' gibberish — and 'barbarize' still carries that ancient sneer.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of barbarize
Barbarize comes from 'barbarous,' which entered English via Latin 'barbarus,' itself borrowed from Greek 'barbaros.' The Greek root originally described those who did not speak Greek, imitating foreign speech as 'bar-bar' babble. The verb took shape in English around the late 16th to early 17th century, when writers began using it to describe the corruption or degradation of language and manners. It shares its root with cognates such as 'barbarism,' 'barbarity,' and 'barbarian.'
Related word forms
How barbarize is actually used
A formal, somewhat literary word, most often found in historical writing and social commentary. It carries strongly negative connotations of cultural or moral decline, whether imposed on others (transitive use) or undergone (intransitive use).
Easily confused with barbarize
Brutalize means to make someone cruel or insensitive, often through violence, while barbarize more broadly implies reducing people or culture to a primitive, uncivilized state.