Definition of "barbarity" []

• Savage brutality or cruelty in actions or conduct. (noun)
• A cruel or savage act. (noun)
• Usage Problem Crudity; coarseness. See Usage Note at barbarism. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "“Their barbarity is a genetic thing; they have a biological propensity for violence and bloodshed."
• "In spite of the seemingly inborn germs of ancient and modern Teutonic barbarity, is it ever going to be possible for the nations to settle their disputes otherwise than by the breaking of the universal eternal precept of the decalogue, "Thou shalt not kill.""
• "One instance of their barbarity is given (v. 21): They gave me gall for my meat (the word signifies a bitter herb, and is often joined with wormwood) and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."