1
as in horror
the quality of inspiring intense dread or dismay
the undeniable atrocity of the forced march of Cherokees known as the Trail of Tears
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in badness
the state or quality of being utterly evil
was appalled by the atrocity of Stalin's mass executions
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3
as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
wars often unleash a level of atrocity that would be unimaginable in peacetime
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Recent Examples of atrocity
As Lebanon and the broader region push to recover from war and atrocities, justice must lead the rebuilding of statehood and the rule of law.
—
Lynn Zovighian, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
From current conflicts in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza to past atrocities in Syria, Bosnia and Rwanda, as well as the Holocaust, basic facts are now disputed or dismissed.
—David Rohde, NBC news, 21 July 2025
Reports of state atrocities and abuses in Guatemala can be found in U.S. intelligence documents from the 1960s onward.
—Esther Brito Ruiz, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2025
Moreover, summoning the horrors of October 7 only brings into sharper focus the scale of Israel's atrocities.
—Alia Brahimi, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocity
Lynn Zovighian, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
From current conflicts in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza to past atrocities in Syria, Bosnia and Rwanda, as well as the Holocaust, basic facts are now disputed or dismissed.
—David Rohde, NBC news, 21 July 2025
Reports of state atrocities and abuses in Guatemala can be found in U.S. intelligence documents from the 1960s onward.
—Esther Brito Ruiz, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2025
Moreover, summoning the horrors of October 7 only brings into sharper focus the scale of Israel's atrocities.
—Alia Brahimi, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocity
Noun
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Stephen Graham Jones’ historical horror sets us in 1912, on the Blackfeet nation.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
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Sutter Health Park hasn’t been a house of horrors for visitors, who had hit more home runs there than in any other road ballpark in the American League before Monday.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Jake Haro pleaded guilty to willful cruelty to a child following a 2018 arrest, KABC reported.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
22 Aug. 2025
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Three people face animal cruelty charges in connection with a home in Old Saybrook where authorities reportedly found more than 100 dead animals.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Only then are we forced to wrestle with the true brutality of war.—
Seema Jilani
August 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Aug. 2025
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In 1943, his UPA carried out a bloody campaign of massacres and terrorism against Polish civilians in the regions of Volhynia and Galicia, with a level of brutality that shocked even the Nazis.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrocity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocity. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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