barbaric

/bɑː(ɹ)ˈbæɹɪk/

//bɑː(ɹ)ˈbæɹɪk// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"barbaric" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“barbaric” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #20,293. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#20,293
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - of or relating to a barbarian; uncivilized, uncultured or uncouth

Corpus desk

Index EN-barbaric · barbaric · English

barbaric · rank #20,293 · 12 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #20,293
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH banjo

Nearest frequency peer: banjo (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “barbaric”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “barbaric” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

barbaric vs Barbary
63% similar
barbaric vs barbarism
78% similar
barbaric vs bariatric
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for barbaric
PropertyValue
Headwordbarbaric
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/bɑː(ɹ)ˈbæɹɪk/
Letters8
Frequency rank#20,293
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “barbaric”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).barbariclands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “banjo” (#20,292), “barbed” (#20,294), “audacity” (#20,291). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “barbaric” is #20,293. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around barbaric (IPA /bɑː(ɹ)ˈbæɹɪk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #20,293 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Dominant gloss: "of or relating to a barbarian; uncivilized, uncultured or uncouth".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for barbaric, with forms such as "abrbaric", "babraric", and "barabric". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Barbary", "barbarism", "bariatric", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English barbarik, from Old French barbarique (“barbarous”), from Latin barbaricus, from Ancient Greek βαρβαρικός (barbarikós, “barbaric, savage, fierce”), from βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “barbarian”) + -ικός (-ikós, adjective suffix). See βάρ… The correct English form is barbaric, spelled B-A-R-B-A-R-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    of or relating to a barbarian; uncivilized, uncultured or uncouth

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how barbaric appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. a barbaric attack on a doctor in a hospital

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English barbarik, from Old French barbarique (“barbarous”), from Latin barbaricus, from Ancient Greek βαρβαρικός (barbarikós, “barbaric, savage, fierce”), from βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “barbarian”) + -ικός (-ikós, adjective suffix). See βάρβαρος (bárbaros) for more.

This word in other languages

barbárico(Español)barbare(Français)barbarisch(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abrbaric
  • babraric
  • barabric
  • barbairc
  • barbarci
  • barbaricc
  • barbarric
  • barbbaric
  • barbraic
  • barrbaric
  • bbarbaric
  • brabaric

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of barbaric - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

abrbaric2babraric2barabric2barbairc2barbarci2barbaricc1barbarric1barbbaric1
Edit distance from "barbaric"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "barbaric"?
"barbaric" is spelled B-A-R-B-A-R-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /bɑː(ɹ)ˈbæɹɪk/.
What does "barbaric" mean?
As an adjective, "barbaric" means: of or relating to a barbarian; uncivilized, uncultured or uncouth
What words are commonly confused with "barbaric"?
"barbaric" is commonly confused with "Barbary", "barbarism", "bariatric". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "barbaric"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "barbaric" is /bɑː(ɹ)ˈbæɹɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "barbaric"?
Inherited from Middle English barbarik, from Old French barbarique (“barbarous”), from Latin barbaricus, from Ancient Greek βαρβαρικός (barbarikós, “barbaric, savage, fierce”), from βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “barbarian”) + -ικός (-ikós, adjective suffix... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "barbaric", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

audacity#20,291antennas#20,287Andersen#20,285Cheyenne#20,311

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

ventured12 variantsunsolved12 variantsdialysis12 variantsemptiness12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list