1
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
an atrocious crime that shocked even hardened members of the police force
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in horrible
extremely unsatisfactory
the picture quality on the pirated DVD was atrocious
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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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of atrocious
The Patriots’ pass coverage without Christian Gonzalez, their atrocious inside linebacker play and roller-coaster special teams, which give any adoring fan a heart attack at a moment’s notice.
—
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025
The effort levels are atrocious.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The writing is bewildering, the rhyme scheme atrocious.
—Sloane Crosley, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
The rare exception to this, in recent memory, is The Wheel Of Time, which got better each season and came out with a pretty great Season 3, whereupon Amazon cancelled it to keep the atrocious Rings Of Power alive.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025
The effort levels are atrocious.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The writing is bewildering, the rhyme scheme atrocious.
—Sloane Crosley, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
The rare exception to this, in recent memory, is The Wheel Of Time, which got better each season and came out with a pretty great Season 3, whereupon Amazon cancelled it to keep the atrocious Rings Of Power alive.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocious
Adjective
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His horrific crimes went on to inspire classic horror movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Silence of the Lambs and Psycho.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
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Reading out the verdict, Korner recounted the horrific crimes committed by Abd–Al-Rahman, including gang rapes, abuse, and mass killings.—
Emmanuel Akinwotu,
NPR,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And reminds us all once again of what an utterly horrible, small, bad, & insecure person Trump is.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
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But during the difficult years, when a horrible cocktail of apathy and toxicity set in, attendance was notably lower.—
Amy Lawrence,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This is close and this is intimate, this is brutal and this is hard.—
Abbey White,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
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The countdown to return the 48 hostages held by Hamas for more than two years and the end to the brutal war in Gaza will officially commence Thursday morning after the Israeli security cabinet and government convene to approve the deal signed overnight.—
Caitlin McFall , Yonat Friling,
FOXNews.com,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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For reasons that are still not fully understood, Gein then developed a gruesome interest in human bodies.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
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What began with the worst attack on Israeli soil in the country’s history—when Hamas killed twelve hundred Israelis and took more than two hundred hostages on October 7, 2023—has led to a gruesome war.—
Ruth Margalit,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Midler and Hawn co-starred alongside Keaton in 1996’s The First Wives Club, with the stars portraying divorcées who wonderfully, wickedly take revenge on their terrible former spouses.—
Althea Legaspi,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
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In the 1970s, when game replays of both programs aired late Saturday nights on public television in Dubuque, Iowa and Wisconsin were equally terrible, and the city was fertile ground for whichever program got off the mat.—
Scott Dochterman,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This culture is incredibly cruel, and things have gotten really obscene.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
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Supporters of the new laws praised the legislation as a major step toward ending cruel breeding practices and protecting consumers.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And in a shocking twist, it was revealed that on one of the highest voting nights, no celebrity will be going home this week.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Oct. 2025
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Google’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold became the first smartphone to explode during a JerryRigEverything durability test, marking a shocking moment in YouTuber Zack Nelson’s decade-long history of stress-testing devices.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Apparently, Canadians are very pissed off at us and don't feel like visiting and spending their money here, which is awful because there are so many businesses that rely upon Canadians and tourists from other countries.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
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The cold was awful, but the rain that was predicted never came.—
Mariana Enriquez
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocious. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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