Meanings
verbbarbarize (third-person singular simple present barbarizes, present participle barbarizing, simple past and past participle barbarized)
present singular third person barbarizes · participle present barbarizing · participle past barbarized · past barbarized
- transitiveTo cause to become savage or uncultured.
- intransitiveTo become savage or uncultured.
The Roman empire was barbarizing rapidly from the time of Trajan.
1839, Thomas De Quincey, “Philosophy of Roman History”, in Blackwood's Magazine - intransitiveTo adopt a foreign or barbarous mode of speech.
The ill habit […] of wretched barbarizing against the Latin and Greek idiom, with their untutored Anglicisms.
[1644], [John Milton], Of Education. To Master Samuel Hartlib, [London]: […] [Thomas Underhill and/or Thomas Johnson], →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Italian barbarizzare
- barbarizzareto cause to become savage
Latin effero
- efferoto cause to become savage
Polish barbaryzować, zbarbaryzować
- barbaryzowaćto cause to become savage
- zbarbaryzowaćto cause to become savage
- barbaryzować sięto adopt a foreign or barbarous mode of speech
- barbaryzować sięto become savave
Slovak barbarizovať
- barbarizovaťto cause to become savage
Spanish barbarizar
- barbarizarto cause to become savage
Swedish förvilda, barbarisera
- förvildato cause to become savage
- barbariserato cause to become savage
Cite this entry
APA
barbarize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbarize
MLA
“barbarize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbarize. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “barbarize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/barbarize.
Source: barbarize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.