What does barbarously mean?
Barbarously is an adverb meaning in a cruel, savage, or brutally coarse manner. It derives from the adjective barbarous, which English borrowed through Latin from the Greek barbaros — a term the Greeks used for foreigners whose language sounded like unintelligible 'bar-bar' muttering. Today the word appears chiefly in formal writing: historical accounts of atrocities, journalistic reports of human-rights abuses, and critical commentary. Its dominant modern sense describes acts of extreme cruelty inflicted without mercy or humanity, as when a regime is said to have barbarously suppressed its people. A secondary, older sense applies the word to matters of taste rather than violence, describing something executed with crude, uncivilized coarseness — a building 'barbarously restored,' for example. Strongly pejorative in tone, barbarously conveys both moral condemnation and cultural judgment, making it a forceful choice when a writer wishes to signal outrage at inhumane behavior.
adverbIn a cruel, savage, or brutally coarse manner; without refinement, taste, or civilized restraint.
- In a cruel, brutal, or savage manner.
- In an unrefined, tasteless, or coarse manner (of style, art, or language).
"The prisoners were barbarously treated, denied food and shelter for days."
"The invaders sacked the city and barbarously put its inhabitants to the sword."
"Critics complained that the historic facade had been barbarously modernized with glass and steel."
The word traces back to the ancient Greeks, who dismissed any foreign speech they couldn't understand as mere 'bar-bar' babbling — the origin of the very word 'barbarian.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of barbarously
Barbarously comes from the adjective barbarous, which entered English via Latin barbarus from Greek barbaros. The Greek term originally referred to foreigners whose speech sounded like meaningless 'bar-bar' babbling to Greek ears, and it gradually acquired connotations of savagery and lack of civilization. The adverb form arose from adding the standard '-ly' suffix, and it has been used since roughly the early modern period to describe cruelly brutal conduct.
Related word forms
How barbarously is actually used
Barbarously carries a strongly negative connotation and appears mostly in formal or literary contexts — historical accounts, journalism, and moral commentary. The 'uncultured/tasteless' sense is less common today than the sense of physical cruelty.
Easily confused with barbarously
Barbaric is an adjective describing something as uncivilized or extremely cruel, while barbarously is the adverb form describing how an action is carried out.