1
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
an atrocious crime that shocked even hardened members of the police force
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of atrocious
Team-wide 3-point shooting (29.6 percent) is oddly atrocious.
—
Brendan Quinn, The Athletic, 22 Feb. 2025
The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7th, which must be freed.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 2 Mar. 2025
If this were the NFL, we’d be done, even in the atrocious era of 17 regular-season games!
—Law Murray, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Back then, the Android software interface on its older smartphones had tons of bloatware, an atrocious design, and obfuscated settings.
—Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Brendan Quinn, The Athletic, 22 Feb. 2025
The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7th, which must be freed.
—Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 2 Mar. 2025
If this were the NFL, we’d be done, even in the atrocious era of 17 regular-season games!
—Law Murray, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Back then, the Android software interface on its older smartphones had tons of bloatware, an atrocious design, and obfuscated settings.
—Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocious
Adjective
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These types of horrific events by terrorists are why those of us who work for peace and stability in the world continue our mission.—
Danielle Wallace,
FOXNews.com,
22 Apr. 2025
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Of course, some eight hundred thousand did die—many in horrific ways—while the formerly enslaved were left to fend for themselves in a postwar state where apartheid was enforced by terror.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Wade has been in a horrible slump since the season started and going in to Saturday night’s game against the Los Angeles Angels is hitting .096 (5-for-52) with a homer, seven RBIs, eight walks and an on base percentage of .213.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
19 Apr. 2025
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The Braves desperately need to add a shortstop and some offensive help amid their horrible start to the season.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But graduating in 2009 meant stepping into a brutal job market during the Great Recession.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
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Andrews adds musical interludes, which don’t always work, and brutal jokes, which do.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Surely Yellowstone, with its large predators and geothermal activity will deliver something gruesome.—
Wes Siler,
Outside Online,
19 Apr. 2025
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Realizing that the price of Remmick's offer is their souls, the living make a desperate last stand that results in the gruesome deaths of everyone but Smoke and Sammie.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Skinner had a terrible time of it for much of the season.—
Allan Mitchell,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
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What is disconcerting is when campaign donors and friends & family have commuted sentences after they have been legally convicted of terrible financial crimes.—
Sanjeev Menon,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Everybody else has no choice, really, other than to bring a cruel, narcissistic far-right leader to power.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
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The cruelest part is that the good ones are mixed with the bad ones.—
Matt Rivers,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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After some rumors and rumblings, Burnes landed with the Arizona Diamondbacks in a shocking turn of events.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Apr. 2025
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That’s a bit shocking for the current winner of the Best New Artist Grammy.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Players who are in strong lineups on teams prone to having awful lineups on the floor in the same games are prone to having skewed impact numbers.—
Law Murray,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
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And the awful topper came in his Arizona Fall League debut, where the Thomas Jefferson High School product was torched by some of baseball’s best prospects and didn’t make it out of the first inning.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
13 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocious. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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