1
as in dreadfulness
the quality of inspiring intense dread or dismay
George Orwell's novel 1984 captures the atrociousness of tyranny
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in badness
the state or quality of being utterly evil
the unspeakable atrociousness of the mass genocide that was perpetrated in that African nation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
for sheer atrociousness the murders committed by Jack the Ripper occupy a special place in the annals of crime
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrociousness
Noun
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On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
15 Jan. 2026 -
The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Just weeks ago, a jury found Colt's father, Colin, guilty of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and cruelty to children.—
CBS News Atlanta Digital Staff,
CBS News,
16 Mar. 2026
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For Barbara, impending death does not inspire a moral awakening, and Rosenberg never gives the reader an origin story that would excuse her cruelty.—
Isle McElroy,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Three years after Amanda Nell Eu heralded a new generation of Malaysian filmmakers with her 2023 Cannes Critics Week Grand Prize winner Tiger Stripes, supernatural horror Baran by compatriot Joel Soh’s Baran is also being tipped as for potential Cannes splash.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
17 Mar. 2026
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On paper, that’s the kind of success that suggests the Academy has finally accepted horror as a creative force here to stay.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
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This is a story that traces the path to justice for mass atrocity in the face of public acquiescence.—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
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Violence in the backcountry between Americans and Native people intensified, fueled by rhetoric justifying atrocities and the expulsion of Indigenous nations to address Americans’ demand for new land.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The killing in the woods of Knoxville demonstrated a brutality and callousness rarely seen in a woman, let alone one so young.—
Amanda Lee Myers,
USA Today,
21 Mar. 2026
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But the increasing brutality of the regime was like nothing these people had ever experienced.—
Cora Engelbrecht,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Perhaps its incorporation of vogue ideas dazzles critics who might otherwise discern its awfulness (Amazon’s Transparent).—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
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There is no way to sugarcoat the awfulness of those months of anxiety.—
Kate Callen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
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This lawless crew shares dramaturgical DNA with the vice figures from medieval morality plays, personifications of sinfulness who would confide their schemes to the audience and make theatergoers their co-conspirators in a riveting game that obviously left its mark on a young Shakespeare.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
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That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.—
William Earl,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Atrociousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrociousness. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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