1
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
an atrocious crime that shocked even hardened members of the police force
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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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of atrocious
The Bengals defense has been atrocious this year, ranking 29th in the NFL.
—
Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 2 Jan. 2025
Meantime, Israel confronted a seven-front war, orchestrated by Iran and its jihadist proxies, beginning with Hamas and its atrocious October 7 attack, and sustained by Hezbollah, which began aerial attacks the following day.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 20 Dec. 2024
Houston’s shooting was atrocious from everywhere on the floor — the team shot only 36.5% from the field, 23.9% from three and 60% from the free-throw line.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 15 Dec. 2024
While my friends and family are at the top of the Christmas list, what about my hair stylist who saved me from that atrocious bang cut or the UPS delivery man who protects my packages from the rain?
—Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 23 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for atrocious 
Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 2 Jan. 2025
Meantime, Israel confronted a seven-front war, orchestrated by Iran and its jihadist proxies, beginning with Hamas and its atrocious October 7 attack, and sustained by Hezbollah, which began aerial attacks the following day.
—Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 20 Dec. 2024
Houston’s shooting was atrocious from everywhere on the floor — the team shot only 36.5% from the field, 23.9% from three and 60% from the free-throw line.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 15 Dec. 2024
While my friends and family are at the top of the Christmas list, what about my hair stylist who saved me from that atrocious bang cut or the UPS delivery man who protects my packages from the rain?
—Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 23 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for atrocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocious
Adjective
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The horrific Palisades Fire may have started at a spot near the popular Temescal Ridge trail.—
Andrew Moseman,
The Atlantic,
15 Jan. 2025
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This individual’s conduct and language were vile, disgusting, unacceptable, and horrific and have no place in our workplace and society.—
Ryan Gaydos,
Fox News,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Traffic was horrible and the private crews can’t turn on a siren, ignore traffic laws, and drive on the wrong side of the road like public firefighters.—
Joseph Bien-Kahn,
Rolling Stone,
24 Jan. 2025
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Recommended Trump moves from ‘American carnage’ to ‘a horrible betrayal’ in second inaugural Juries also convicted some on charges of seditious conspiracy, which refers to activities that undermine a state without directly attacking it.—
Patrik Jonsson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Related article Japan’s leader demands answers from China over schoolboy’s fatal stabbing The sentiment is rooted in bitter memories of Japan’s invasion and brutal occupation in the 1930s and 1940s and fueled by present-day territorial disputes.—
Chris Lau,
CNN,
24 Jan. 2025
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Many excellent and capable people from rural areas were lost to this brutal movement, leading to a generational impact on China's progress.—
John Ruwitch,
NPR,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Ten people were murdered in the New York City subway system last year — including the recent, random and gruesome immolation of a homeless New Jersey woman asleep on a Brooklyn train — up from five murders in 2023.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
16 Jan. 2025
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Did Hawthorne base these characters on the Rev. Ephraim Avery and his young congregant Sarah Maria Cornell, whose gruesome death in 1832 in Fall River, 50 miles south of Boston, shocked all of New England?—
Liesl Schillinger,
New York Times,
10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Gerulaitis’s gallows humour deflects from the fact that his terrible records against Connors and Borg took a big toll on his confidence.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
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While this is terrible for the environment, customer satisfaction, and retailers’ bottom lines, the truth is the industry has created a monster and easy and free returns have become the basic consumer expectation.—
Steve Dennis,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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And having more thoughtful conversations doesn’t preclude the need sometimes to confront those who are needlessly cruel or organizations that benefit from such exploitation.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
18 Jan. 2025
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In recent months, the Justice Department and the state filed thousands of pages of new records in the lawsuit, including reports and sworn statements from pediatricians, scholars and others who describe Florida’s policies as archaic and cruel.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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When a shocking event takes place, many organizations try to send communications out quickly—and these messages tend to be rushed, emotionally driven and sometimes poorly worded or executed.—
Charlotte Sweeney OBE,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
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The Proud Boys espouse a vague political ideology of unfettered free speech and nationalism, expressed through offensive language, controversial memes and shocking imagery.—
Will Carless,
USA TODAY,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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But 2024 Ohio State had the good fortune to suffer that awful day in the first year of a bigger Playoff.—
Stewart Mandel,
The Athletic,
21 Jan. 2025
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There is one ray of hope for United fans though amid the awful run of results.—
Ben Church,
CNN,
20 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near atrocious
Cite this Entry
“Atrocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocious. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
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