as in barbarian
not civilized
unfairly branded as uncivilized by European explorers, they had created a culture that was actually quite advanced
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Recent Examples of uncivilized
There is no doubt uncivilized — and sometimes violent — acts have taken place in school bathrooms.
—
Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 26 June 2022
Roxane Gay: For all our cultural obsession with civility, there is nothing more uncivilized than the political establishment’s acceptance of the constancy of mass shootings.
—New York Times, 26 May 2022
Sure, the song (apparently written about writer Quentin Crisp) is just about the alienating sense of being an outsider, of having people judge you for your accent or aspiring to civility in an uncivilized land.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Apr. 2022
The Qing emperors themselves were not Han either, but Manchu, a people from the other side of the Great Wall who had traditionally been regarded as uncivilized nomads.
—Ian Buruma, Harper’s Magazine , 18 Jan. 2022
See All Example Sentences for uncivilized
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uncivilized
Adjective
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Ashley Johnson and star/executive producer Travis Willingham tee up what's coming for their soft barbarian lady.—
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Bailey plays half-elf ranger Vex, O’Brien is her twin brother Vax, Willingham is the lovable barbarian Grog, Johnson is the holy gnome cleric Pike, Jaffe is the royal gunslinger Percy, Ray is magical half-elf druid Keyleth and Riegel is the raunchy gnome bard Scanlan.—
Adjective
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People at work have made rude comments pertaining to my hearing.—
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Though Jackson acknowledged that those time crunches can be stressful, being rude isn't the way to go.—
Adjective
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This league is a savage league.—
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The fifth-place finisher also reveals the inspiration for her savage jury question to Savannah.—
Adjective
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But every point matters for the Sabres, and these 2 were enough to put them in the second wild-card spot based on points percentage.—
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Those interviews can be conducted through wild-card weekend and are limited to three hours in length.—
Adjective
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Buffington had been working as an after-school instructor for classes in woodworking, primitive skills and kite-making through the Princeton Recreation Department.—
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These regular observations will gradually take in data and aim to provide pivotal information about the strengths, compositions, and histories of these primitive cosmic bodies.—
Adjective
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Still, a second-generation Jewish American sensibility permeated Caesar’s shows—not just in Yiddish tossed into barbarous tongues but in the pervasive mood of streetwise distrust.—
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In the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, a man dressed as a cop shot two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses, killing the DFL speaker of the House and her husband in a barbarous (and politically motivated) atrocity.—
Adjective
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Along with being a barbaric and disgraceful method of caring for people with severe mental illness, jails are not a long-term option.—
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There was no electricity, and basic human conditions were barbaric.—
Cite this Entry
“Uncivilized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uncivilized. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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