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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of atrocious
Roger Agness Orlando Camp Mystic cartoon was inappropriate The Sentinel’s obvious left bias is atrocious.
—
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2025
Money in circulation reflected the atrocious policy that plainly restrained production.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
The tendon pain is all gone, but the grip strength on my fretting hand is atrocious, and a lot of the nerve sensation hasn’t come back.
—Dan Reilly, Vulture, 18 June 2025
The management of the crime scene was atrocious and the amateur nature of the collection of evidence was very harmful to the prosecution.
—Jenna Sundel
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 July 2025
Money in circulation reflected the atrocious policy that plainly restrained production.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 22 June 2025
The tendon pain is all gone, but the grip strength on my fretting hand is atrocious, and a lot of the nerve sensation hasn’t come back.
—Dan Reilly, Vulture, 18 June 2025
The management of the crime scene was atrocious and the amateur nature of the collection of evidence was very harmful to the prosecution.
—Jenna Sundel
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocious
Adjective
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But the first lady and I are here in Texas to express the love and support and the anguish of our entire nation in the aftermath of this really horrific and deadly flood.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
11 July 2025
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California homeowner’s insurance premiums were already rising before the horrific Southern California wildfires in January.—
Scott Cohn,
CNBC,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Because of Denise Gough's human frailty as a woman destroyed by her own ambition and Kyle Soller's cowardice in the face of a horrible truth.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
EW.com,
23 July 2025
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Soak up the gall of losing, absorb the horrible information, feel it to the full, go there—and then rebound, with superb elasticity.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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This created a growing population of vulnerable, undocumented workers in the 1960s and ’70s who increasingly faced brutal apprehensions.—
Jimmy Patino,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 July 2025
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According to an arrest affidavit obtained by USA Today, the 21-year-old approached a woman from behind at a self-checkout lane at a Walmart in Tennessee, and launched into a brutal attack.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
23 July 2025
Adjective
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But the gruesome truth remains — more than 120 are people are dead, including children.—
Bea L. Hines,
Miami Herald,
11 July 2025
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Other all-original haunted houses will include Jason Universe, which takes guests back to the summer camp where, one Friday the 13th, the gruesome legend was born.—
Tom Tapp,
Deadline,
10 July 2025
Adjective
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My heart goes out to all of the Jewish children, grandchildren and future great-grandchildren who must ultimately bear the brunt of the terrible additional worldwide antisemitism caused directly by the horrific actions of the Israeli government over the past two years.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
2 Aug. 2025
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Friday was particularly unsettling as terrible jobs data slammed the market and triggered President Donald Trump .—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
2 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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A little more than a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision from the Ninth Circuit that determined a ban on people sleeping in public was constitutionally cruel and unusual.—
Natalie Eilbert,
jsonline.com,
29 July 2025
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In an inordinately cowardly and cruel act, Rubio stayed away from the department that day, ignoring the men and women whose careers and life plans were decimated by his flippant decision-making.—
Lynn Northcutt Vega,
Sun Sentinel,
29 July 2025
Adjective
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Contract disputes involving All-Pro members of the Dallas Cowboys are hardly shocking this time of year.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Aug. 2025
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The Too Much creator recently shared her vision for a film based on the shocking affair between Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss that was unpacked during the Bravo reality show’s Season 10 reunion in 2023, as Sandoval’s estranged ex Ariana Madix had the chance to confront them both.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
2 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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That said, The Magician of Tiger Castle did initially start out as a YA romcom about Princess Tullia escaping her betrothal to the neighboring kingdom’s awful prince.—
Natalie Zutter
August 1,
Literary Hub,
1 Aug. 2025
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The first breach was awful: humiliating for the women who had to see their images passed around, and grim given the number of men making fun of those images with such open, gleeful cruelty.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
30 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocious. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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