atrocious
Americanadjective
-
extremely cruel or wicked; ruthless
atrocious deeds
-
horrifying or shocking
an atrocious road accident
-
informal very bad; detestable
atrocious writing
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of atrocious
First recorded in 1660–70; atroci(ty) + -ous
Explanation
Atrocious is a great word, but there's nothing good about its meaning or its synonyms: horrible, ugly, abominable, dreadful, unspeakable, and monstrous, to name just a few. The adjective atrocious is descended from the Latin atrox, which means "fierce" and "cruel." We hear this word all the time when something provokes horror (like a massive earthquake), when something is exceptionally bad or displeasing (like the worst movie we've ever seen, and the worse acting), or when we see something shockingly brutal or cruel (like an act of terrorism).
Vocabulary lists containing atrocious
Esperanza Rising
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Oh, No! Synonyms for "Bad"
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Atrocious offensive line play, in many ways, harms the viewing experience more than terrible quarterback play.
From Washington Post • Sep. 13, 2017
Atrocious weather mired the Germans first in impassable mud and then in horrific, record-breaking low temperatures and snow storms.
From BBC • Oct. 28, 2013
"Atrocious, artless, cynical," is the way Stephen Bayley, one of Britain's leading voices on style, taste and contemporary design, described the uniforms.
From Reuters • Aug. 3, 2012
Mississippi's loudmouthed old John Rankin cried, self-righteously: "Atrocious."
From Time Magazine Archive
Atrocious as were the outrages connected with the prosecutions, in 1692, none, it appears to me, equalled those committed in the case of Martha Carrier.
From Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather A Reply by Upham, Charles Wentworth
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
