1
as in dreadfulness
the quality of inspiring intense dread or dismay
George Orwell's novel 1984 captures the atrociousness of tyranny
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in badness
the state or quality of being utterly evil
the unspeakable atrociousness of the mass genocide that was perpetrated in that African nation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
for sheer atrociousness the murders committed by Jack the Ripper occupy a special place in the annals of crime
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrociousness
Noun
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Jake Haro pleaded guilty to willful cruelty to a child following a 2018 arrest, KABC reported.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
22 Aug. 2025 -
Three people face animal cruelty charges in connection with a home in Old Saybrook where authorities reportedly found more than 100 dead animals.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
21 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Stephen Graham Jones’ historical horror sets us in 1912, on the Blackfeet nation.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 2025
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But there’s still something delectable about Guillermo del Toro, a director who is both a visionary and a genre classicist, returning to the original horror novel, the tale of monsters and madmen that gave birth to all subsequent tales of monsters and madmen.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Recently it was renamed the Battle of Fort Dearborn, acknowledging that both sides committed atrocities in the centuries-long struggle between Native Americans and European colonizers for control of what became the United States.—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Aug. 2025
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Prevention of these atrocities is a faraway goal with little to no preparatory work being undertaken by States.—
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Only then are we forced to wrestle with the true brutality of war.—
Seema Jilani
August 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Aug. 2025
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In 1943, his UPA carried out a bloody campaign of massacres and terrorism against Polish civilians in the regions of Volhynia and Galicia, with a level of brutality that shocked even the Nazis.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Atrociousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrociousness. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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