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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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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1
as in dreadfulness
the quality of inspiring intense dread or dismay
George Orwell's novel 1984 captures the atrociousness of tyranny
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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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of 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
Adjective
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocious
Adjective
-
Throughout the Holocaust, the Nazis concentrated European Jews in urban ghettos, which were marked by horrific living conditions, forced labor and the threat of execution.—
Tom Dreisbach,
NPR,
30 June 2025
-
And that's a tough sell to a jury that spent weeks listening to horrific testimony about Diddy and his empire.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
29 June 2025
Adjective
-
To be able to say that so many writers have been meaningful to you is not a horrible thing.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
-
If Flagg develops into the human triple double who leads the team to the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals in his first six years, the trade can be called not a horrible deal.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
Each of the disciples have their own secrets to bear, life taking them on some brutal pathways, the piece leaning into powerful introspection.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
28 June 2025
-
Just over a decade had passed since the end of the brutal twelve-year-long conflict, and street protests often ended in violence.—
Graciela Mochkofsky,
New Yorker,
28 June 2025
Noun
-
Perhaps the surprise return of Egghead Vance will turn it into symbol of resistance, seen at every demonstration against the cruelties and greed of the Trump machine.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
25 June 2025
-
Other laws set to take effect on July 1 in Florida include House Bill 255, establishing harsher penalties for animal cruelty, and House Bill 653, setting new aggravating factors when determining whether someone convicted of a capital felony should receive the death penalty.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 June 2025
Adjective
-
Accounts of government and police repression have only gotten more gruesome, with Amnesty Kenya reporting that 16 people have been shot and killed as of June 28 and local officials claiming that hundreds have been injured (while also alleging that most of those hurt were police officers).—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
-
Forget turning on some gruesome horror movie: reading the daily headlines is enough to make just about anyone scream.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
26 June 2025
Adjective
-
Rarely great, and consistently cringey in that NHL way we’re used to by now, but rarely terrible.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
-
Gi-hun is left with a terrible choice: kill the baby and survive, or sacrifice himself so that the baby can live.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
27 June 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
Noun
-
Her post-Sisterhood career has featured roles in horror flicks (The Grudge 2), cringe comedies (The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret), medical dramas (House), and sitcoms (Two and a Half Men).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
28 June 2025
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Dark Universe is where monsters from Universal’s classic horror films – like Frankenstein, Dracula and the Invisible Man – live on in the village of Darkmoor.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocious. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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