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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of atrocity
The next atrocity captured on a scared bystander’s shaking phone?
—
Karen Valby,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
Italy has a colonial past, of course, and its government forces committed atrocities in areas under Italian dominion in East Africa between the 1880s and 1941.
—
Kaitlyn Rabe,
The Conversation,
16 June 2026
As a survivor of the Armenian Genocide during World War I, Galentz’s oeuvre serves not only as a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit but also the power of creativity amid some of the worst imaginable atrocities.
—
The Editors Of Artnews,
ARTnews.com,
12 June 2026
To be sure, anti-immigrant violence in the United States does not approach the scale of the atrocities Valentino usually studies.
—
M. Gessen,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for atrocity
Karen Valby,
Vanity Fair,
16 June 2026
Italy has a colonial past, of course, and its government forces committed atrocities in areas under Italian dominion in East Africa between the 1880s and 1941.
—
Kaitlyn Rabe,
The Conversation,
16 June 2026
As a survivor of the Armenian Genocide during World War I, Galentz’s oeuvre serves not only as a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit but also the power of creativity amid some of the worst imaginable atrocities.
—
The Editors Of Artnews,
ARTnews.com,
12 June 2026
To be sure, anti-immigrant violence in the United States does not approach the scale of the atrocities Valentino usually studies.
—
M. Gessen,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for atrocity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocity
Noun
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Wingate weaves this historical horror with a modern-day mystery, illustrating the lasting trauma of children stolen for profit and the unbreakable bond of blood.
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Now, will Hollywood actually learn anything from the success of the low-budget horror flick?
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.
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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.
Noun
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According to the Sheriff’s Office, a judge released Cruz on his own recognizance June 4 following his arraignment on felony animal cruelty charges in Sacramento Superior Court.
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At one point, the narrator, embarrassed by his own act of cruelty, gives a sobbing woman all his money and then leaves her alone in a hotel room.
Noun
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In a world so full of dread and awfulness, why not take a moment to read anonymous petty literary gossip on the internet?
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The relative excitement around the Rockies having arrived in San Diego at 6-6 is a reaction based on their relative awfulness.
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.
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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.
Noun
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But it’s lost on these boys, whose youth has been ground away by the drug trade’s meaningless brutality.
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There is a weird intimacy to hand-to-hand combat and the brutality of it.
Noun
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That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.
Cite this Entry
“Atrocity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocity. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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