1
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
an atrocious crime that shocked even hardened members of the police force
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in horrible
extremely unsatisfactory
the picture quality on the pirated DVD was atrocious
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
the atrocious treatment of prisoners at the camps
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of atrocious
Even if there is no police report or formal complaint, Netflix could do its due diligence of getting into the social-media groups and taking a peek to see if there’s anything atrocious being said about some of these men.
—
Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 21 May 2025
The company also floated an atrocious proposal to erect a 50-story apartment tower on the same pier, but that ambition thankfully dissipated.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 21 May 2025
McIlroy then happened to have an atrocious week driving the golf ball.
—Kendall Capps, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 May 2025
Tottenham’s performances without their first-choice centre-backs have been atrocious.
—Jay Harris, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 21 May 2025
The company also floated an atrocious proposal to erect a 50-story apartment tower on the same pier, but that ambition thankfully dissipated.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 21 May 2025
McIlroy then happened to have an atrocious week driving the golf ball.
—Kendall Capps, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 May 2025
Tottenham’s performances without their first-choice centre-backs have been atrocious.
—Jay Harris, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocious
Adjective
-
But the first lady and I are here in Texas to express the love and support and the anguish of our entire nation in the aftermath of this really horrific and deadly flood.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
11 July 2025
-
Family recounts parents' efforts to save children The family of the two children who died in the flooding recounted in a GoFundMe page the horrific moment floodwaters swept the young siblings away and the desperate attempt by their parents to save their lives.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
The market is just full of butcher shops, with the most ghastly whole pigs and halves of steers hanging from horrible hooks.—
John Updike,
New Yorker,
11 July 2025
-
For many who were directly affected by the flood, these post-flood days have been like waking up from a horrible nightmare.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
Read more: 49ers Reveal Significant Injury Update on Brandon Aiyuk Ahead of his first season as the Vikings' starter, McCarthy has been hit with a brutal prediction.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 July 2025
-
The Eastern Conference is wide open after the brutal injuries to both Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton during the playoffs, and now the Knicks are saddled with the expectations of excellence.—
Tom Rende,
Forbes.com,
11 July 2025
Adjective
-
But the gruesome truth remains — more than 120 are people are dead, including children.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
11 July 2025
-
Other all-original haunted houses will include Jason Universe, which takes guests back to the summer camp where, one Friday the 13th, the gruesome legend was born.—
Tom Tapp,
Deadline,
10 July 2025
Adjective
-
And because of that, it’s shielded us from the terrible things that happen downstream in the supply chain.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
8 July 2025
-
Vegas bounced back from a terrible loss to the Fever with an 86-68 win over the Sun on Sunday.—
Kilty Cleary,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
Politics remains a cruel business and the governor has been on the frontline of it for nearly 20 years, winning and losing.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
5 July 2025
-
They were joined by actors playing the contestants, who lurched along wearing expressions of exaggerated horror, as though the cruel stakes of the game had just been revealed to them.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
4 July 2025
Adjective
-
In addition to all the shocking Prime Day finds on sale now, J.Crew Factory is stepping up and dropping prices.—
Alyssa Grabinski,
People.com,
9 July 2025
-
All those TikToks sharing the most important news of the week, or the Instagram influencers reacting to a shocking headline, or the YouTubers making video essays analyzing current events — all of these could not exist without the labor and specialized knowledge of journalists.—
Reia Li,
AZCentral.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
However, the idea that Gunn was going to make an awful Superman movie does not match up with his history of comic book productions across Marvel and DC.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
-
This has been an awful process—a frantic rush to meet an artificial deadline that has tested every limit of this institution.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocious. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share