atrocity

noun

atroc·​i·​ty ə-ˈträ-sə-tē 

plural atrocities

1

: a shockingly bad or atrocious act, object, or situation

the atrocities of war

2

: the quality or state of being atrocious

… the paralysing atrocity of the thought which occupied her.

—Joseph Conrad

Synonyms

• atrociousness
• awfulness
• dreadfulness
• frightfulness
• ghastliness
• grisliness
• gruesomeness
• hideousness
• horridness
• horror
• monstrosity
• repulsiveness

Examples of atrocity in a Sentence

Atrocities were committed by forces on both sides of the conflict.

Who could be capable of such atrocity?

Recent Examples on the Web

Pakistan, which has a history of providing clandestine support to the Taliban, has blamed the latter for providing a safe haven to terrorists who commit atrocities on Pakistani soil. —Hasan Ali, Christian Science Monitor, 19 May 2025

But fighting had broken out across Sudan, and reports of atrocities were filtering in from the countryside: mass rapes, mass executions, torture. —Nicolas Niarchos, New Yorker, 19 May 2025

The United States placed sanctions on Syria amid former President Bashar Assad's atrocities against the Syrian people. —Alex Thomas, Arkansas Online, 18 May 2025

As a result, this shallow depth of field relegates much of the nonstop atrocities to the blurred periphery. —Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

see atrocious

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for atrocity

• ferocity
• monstrosity
• pomposity
• porosity
• precocity
• schistosity
• velocity
• verbosity
• viscosity
• animosity
• curiosity
• generosity

Kids Definition

atrocity

noun

atroc·​i·​ty ə-ˈträs-ət-ē 

plural atrocities

1

: the quality or state of being atrocious

2

: something that is atrocious