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 of atrocity

• horror
• dreadfulness
• awfulness
• frightfulness

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

All three play key roles in the library scene—in which Walker’s revolutionaries, seeking justice for a racial atrocity, hold Morgan’s collection hostage—but none had visited the real thing, on Thirty-sixth Street. —Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026

The city saw some of the terror group’s worst atrocities. —Tim Lister, CNN Money, 18 Jan. 2026

Indeed, Katie Halper, a Jewish journalist, has carefully documented the myriad atrocities gleefully perpetrated by Zionists. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2026

The conflict that has seen multiple atrocities and pushed Sudan into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. —Fatma Khaled, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2026

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