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
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2
as in badness
the state or quality of being utterly evil
was appalled by the atrocity of Stalin's mass executions
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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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Recent Examples of atrocity
Since then, the mass atrocities became too numerous to detail, the death toll impossible to tally, including due to the regime's use of chemical weapons against civilians.
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CBS News, 8 Dec. 2024
Could the same workers who had been loyal to this factory for many years commit such atrocities against its owner?
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Dec. 2024
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Invision Three years on, the Taliban's atrocities against Afghan women seem to have slipped out of international headlines.
—Ruchi Kumar, NPR, 3 Dec. 2024
The Oscar-contending drama The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent retells what happened on that train as war flared in the former Yugoslavia and old grievances fueled new atrocities.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 2 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for atrocity 
CBS News, 8 Dec. 2024
Could the same workers who had been loyal to this factory for many years commit such atrocities against its owner?
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Dec. 2024
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Invision Three years on, the Taliban's atrocities against Afghan women seem to have slipped out of international headlines.
—Ruchi Kumar, NPR, 3 Dec. 2024
The Oscar-contending drama The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent retells what happened on that train as war flared in the former Yugoslavia and old grievances fueled new atrocities.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 2 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for atrocity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocity
Noun
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That definitely still draws certain Academy members toward watching the film, but even the tamest of horror films have historically been shut out of any Oscar nominations.Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 12 Dec. 2024
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Several fans of the original felt the satirical horror film should not be remade at all.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024
Noun
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His father, Colin Gray, is facing 29 charges — including two counts of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree murder and cruelty to children — related to the shooting at his son’s high school.Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News, 17 Dec. 2024
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Oxford, no longer relevant to the contemporary world in so many ways, was advertising its special connection with the cruelty and suffering that had been rolled out across the entire planet, over centuries, and still rolling away.Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Syrians are still digesting the systemic brutality of the regime, now that prisons and torture chambers – chief among them Sednaya – have been opened.Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Dec. 2024
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The killing of the CEO captivated the nation, both for the brutality of the crime and for the anger and frustration many people expressed about the health care insurance system.Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near atrocity
Cite this Entry
“Atrocity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocity. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.
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