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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of atrocity
Antisemitism is abhorrent and has resulted in the greatest atrocities in human history.
—
Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
But Iran has been a lethal danger to Americans since 1979—one atrocity after another, unceasing aggression, unceasing repression at home.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 4 Mar. 2026
But the level of violence, the level of inhumanity, the level of atrocity in Iran, is what moves me.
—Lily Moayeri, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2026
Post-Soviet framing requires the work to serve as evidence—documentation proving atrocity—which collapses the forty-year gap between event and acknowledgment into transparent testimony.
—Anel Rakhimzhanova, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for atrocity
Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2026
But Iran has been a lethal danger to Americans since 1979—one atrocity after another, unceasing aggression, unceasing repression at home.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 4 Mar. 2026
But the level of violence, the level of inhumanity, the level of atrocity in Iran, is what moves me.
—Lily Moayeri, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2026
Post-Soviet framing requires the work to serve as evidence—documentation proving atrocity—which collapses the forty-year gap between event and acknowledgment into transparent testimony.
—Anel Rakhimzhanova, Artforum, 1 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for atrocity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocity
Noun
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The period between sequels left plenty of room for satire at the expense of the horror genre, which expanded rapidly in the wake of the original film.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Mar. 2026
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The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Mar. 2026
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
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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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Colin Gray was charged with multiple counts of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and cruelty to children.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
3 Mar. 2026
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Deliberate cruelty to animals is one of the clearest red flags.—
Steven Yablonski,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 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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Is there also a whiff of nostalgia in the slow movement, for a world disintegrating in brutality?—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
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An Iranian man living in Colorado who fled after the 1970s revolution to keep his wife and daughters safe and free, says his generation regrets supporting the change in government that led to decades of brutality.—
Chierstin Roth,
CBS News,
5 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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That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.—
William Earl,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrocity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocity. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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