barbarize definition - Dictionary

Dictionary

bar·ba·rize [ brbə rz ] (past and past participle bar·ba·rized, present participle bar·ba·riz·ing, 3rd person present singular bar·ba·riz·es)

transitive and intransitive verb

Definition:

1. make or become cruel: to become, or make somebody, cruel or brutal

2. make or become less civilized: to become less civilized or less cultured, or reduce something to this state

[15th century. Via late Latin< Greek barbarizein "act or speak like a foreigner, speak gibberish" < barbaros (see barbarous)]

bar·ba·ri·za·tion [ brbəri záysh'n ] noun