What does barbarizing mean?
'Barbarizing' is the present participle and gerund of the verb 'barbarize', which means to make or become barbarous — that is, to sink into, or drag something down into, a crude, cruel, or uncivilized state. The word can describe societies degraded by violence, languages stripped of their refinement, or individuals coarsened by brutality. It is a formal, largely literary term found most often in historical writing, cultural criticism, and moral commentary, where its force depends on the contrast between civilization and its perceived opposite. Because it implies an active process of degradation rather than a fixed condition, 'barbarizing' suits arguments about decline: a critic might claim that cheap entertainment is barbarizing public taste, or that war barbarizes combatants on every side. The word derives ultimately from the Greek 'bárbaros', the term Greeks used for foreigners whose speech sounded like unintelligible babbling, and it shares this root with 'barbarian', 'barbarous', and 'barbarism'. Its enduring usefulness lies in naming the unsettling possibility that civilization, far from being permanent, can be actively undone.
verb (present participle and gerund of 'barbarize')'Barbarizing' is the present participle and gerund of the verb 'barbarize', meaning to make or become barbarous — that is, to reduce something (language, behavior, a society, or oneself) to a crude, uncivilized, or cruelly primitive state.
- (of a person, group, or society) To make or become barbarous; to degrade into a crude, cruel, or uncivilized condition.
- (of language or art) To corrupt or coarsen, stripping away refinement, polish, or civilized standards.
- Intransitive/rare: To adopt barbarous manners, customs, or speech.
"Critics accused the new regime of barbarizing public discourse through its relentless propaganda."
"Historians argue that prolonged warfare barbarized both sides of the conflict, eroding long-held codes of conduct."
"He complained that television was barbarizing the English language, one crude catchphrase at a time."
The ancient Greeks called all foreign speech 'bar-bar' — meaningless babbling — which is how the word 'barbarian' was born, and 'barbarizing' carries that ancient sneer forward into modern English.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of barbarizing
'Barbarizing' comes from the verb 'barbarize', which entered English in the early 17th century, formed from 'barbarous' with the verb-forming suffix '-ize'. 'Barbarous' itself traces back through Latin 'barbarus' to the ancient Greek 'bárbaros', the word Greeks applied to non-Greek speakers whose language sounded to them like the nonsense syllables 'bar-bar'. The same Greek root produced the related nouns 'barbarism' and the adjective 'barbaric', all carrying the sense of foreignness, crudeness, or cruelty relative to a civilized standard.
Related word forms
How barbarizing is actually used
'Barbarizing' is a relatively formal, literary word, most at home in historical, cultural criticism, and rhetorical writing. It typically carries strong negative connotations, implying not merely roughness but an active decline from civilization into cruelty or crudeness. It appears chiefly as a participle in constructions like 'was barbarizing' or as a gerund describing the act itself.
Easily confused with barbarizing
'Barbarism' is a noun meaning brutal, uncivilized behavior or a language error, whereas 'barbarizing' is the ongoing action of making something barbarous.
'Barbarian' refers to an uncivilized or brutally coarse person, while 'barbarizing' describes the process of causing such coarseness rather than the person it describes.