noun
barbarism
BAH-buh-rihzm
noun
1
An act of extreme cruelty or savagery.
"The massacre was condemned as an act of barbarism."
2
A state of being uncivilized or culturally undeveloped.
"The historian described the region's slide into barbarism after the empire's collapse."
3
An incorrect or ungrammatical use of language, such as a mixed-up word or mispronunciation.
"The teacher marked the sentence as a barbarism for mixing Latin and Greek roots incorrectly."
How to Use Barbarism
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA cruel or savage act, a state of cultural backwardness, or (in language) a badly formed word or phrase.
Word Forms
barbarisms plural
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Etymology
From the same root as barbarian and barbaric, ultimately Greek barbaros ("foreigner").