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
The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, which uses open-source intelligence to investigate these sorts of atrocity crimes in real time, began ringing alarm bells about what would come to happen in El Fasher back in the spring of 2024.
—
Janine Di Giovanni,
Vanity Fair,
25 June 2026
The second principle was public education, which was trying to call attention to these atrocities that were being visited on the planet.
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Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
25 June 2026
According to Reuters, the United States and European Union raised concerns that the resolution could be interpreted as creating a hierarchy among crimes against humanity by treating some atrocities as more serious than others.
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Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
21 June 2026
The genocidal atrocities uncovered in Bucha were televised internationally.
—
Andy J. Semotiuk,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for atrocity
Janine Di Giovanni,
Vanity Fair,
25 June 2026
The second principle was public education, which was trying to call attention to these atrocities that were being visited on the planet.
—
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
25 June 2026
According to Reuters, the United States and European Union raised concerns that the resolution could be interpreted as creating a hierarchy among crimes against humanity by treating some atrocities as more serious than others.
—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
21 June 2026
The genocidal atrocities uncovered in Bucha were televised internationally.
—
Andy J. Semotiuk,
Forbes.com,
21 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 4 Jul. 2026.
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