1
as in dreadfulness
the quality of inspiring intense dread or dismay
George Orwell's novel 1984 captures the atrociousness of tyranny
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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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Wingate weaves this historical horror with a modern-day mystery, illustrating the lasting trauma of children stolen for profit and the unbreakable bond of blood.
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Now, will Hollywood actually learn anything from the success of the low-budget horror flick?
Noun
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On one side, a satanic figure named Randall Flagg who gathers his forces of badness to Las Vegas; on the other, the good guys, led by 108-year-old Mother Abigail in, of all places, Boulder.
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The show premiered over Thanksgiving weekend, when people were tired and full and bored (and probably also horny), and countered our world’s unceasing badness with its world’s buoyant sweetness.
Noun
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According to the Sheriff’s Office, a judge released Cruz on his own recognizance June 4 following his arraignment on felony animal cruelty charges in Sacramento Superior Court.
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At one point, the narrator, embarrassed by his own act of cruelty, gives a sobbing woman all his money and then leaves her alone in a hotel room.
Noun
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The respected 13th-century Spanish rabbi Nachmanides (Ramban) chastises Lot for the atrocity of offering his daughters in place of the angels.
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While younger generations were taught in school about the atrocities of the Holocaust, the book found that family lore continued to sanitize the past with grandparents often painted as heroes, rescuers or victims themselves.
Noun
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But soon after, in Genesis 18, God tells Abraham of plans to investigate reports of sinfulness in Sodom and Gomorrah.
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Denver author Josiah Hesse was raised by Evangelical parents in churches that believe in the torments of hell, that their poverty is due to their sinfulness and lack of faith.
Noun
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Lee learned much about the systemic oppression that Black Americans faced from his first student, Jesse Glover, who had been a victim of police brutality.
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These early precedents in fictional brutality also weaken Thomson’s next point, about literature’s superiority.
Noun
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In a world so full of dread and awfulness, why not take a moment to read anonymous petty literary gossip on the internet?
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The relative excitement around the Rockies having arrived in San Diego at 6-6 is a reaction based on their relative awfulness.
Noun
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That was really what helped me into the character and into her evilness.
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Cite this Entry
“Atrociousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrociousness. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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