atrocious

adjective

atro·​cious ə-ˈtrō-shəs 

1

: extremely wicked, brutal, or cruel : barbaric

prisoners subjected to atrocious treatment

2

: appalling, horrifying

the atrocious weapons of modern war

an atrocious accident

3

a

: utterly revolting : abominable

atrocious working conditions

atrocious weather

b

: of very poor quality

atrocious handwriting

atrociously adverb

atrociousness noun

Synonyms

• appalling
• awful
• dreadful
• frightful
• ghastly
• grisly
• gruesome
• grewsome
• hideous
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• horrific
• horrifying
• lurid
• macabre
• monstrous
• nightmare
• nightmarish
• shocking
• terrible
• terrific

Examples of atrocious in a Sentence

… much of the manufactured-home industry employed sales practices that were atrocious. The need for meaningful down payments was frequently ignored. Sometimes fakery was involved. Moreover, impossible-to-meet monthly payments were being agreed to by borrowers who signed up because they had nothing to lose. —Warren E. Buffett, Newsweek, 9 Mar. 2009

In the hands of a succession of more or less sadistic colonial governors and prison officers, convicts, particularly repeat offenders, found themselves subjected to atrocious punishments, flogged, committed to chain gangs, kept in underground pits, starved, and bullied. —Caroline Moorehead, New York Review of Books, 16 Nov. 2006

It would seem that by now the Tigers might be weary of analyzing their roller-coaster season, sick of reliving their atrocious 9-23 start and comparing it with their recent hot streak. —Sports Illustrated, 4 Sept. 2000

an atrocious period in the nation's history

an atrocious crime that shocked even hardened members of the police force

Recent Examples on the Web

Phillies series The Dodgers looked all set to win two of three from the Phillies when an atrocious call from third base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt turned Wednesday’s game around. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024

In the late 1990s, agents habitually sent companies a couple spec scripts a day, and most of them were atrocious. —Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2024

Brian Daboll’s first stringers turned in an atrocious second padded practice at the training facility in East Rutherford, N.J., getting dominated by a defense playing without star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who sat out with an illness for a second straight day. —Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 30 July 2024

Their game-day parking, especially for senior fans, is atrocious. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 24 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin atroc-, atrox gloomy, atrocious, from atr-, ater black + -oc-, -ox (akin to Greek ōps eye) — more at eye

First Known Use

1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

atrocious

adjective

atro·​cious ə-ˈtrō-shəs 

1

: savagely wicked, brutal, or cruel

2

: very bad

atrocious weather

atrociously adverb

atrociousness noun

Legal Definition

atrocious

adjective

atro·​cious ə-ˈtrō-shəs 

: characterized by extreme cruelty or viciousness

atrocious assault and battery