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
- atrociously adverb
- atrociousness noun
Etymology
Origin of atrocious
First recorded in 1660–70; atroci(ty) + -ous
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.
Even Tottenham, whose form has been atrocious for 18 months now, managed it early last season, when United were one of the teams they beat.
From BBC
The defense’s atrocious cornerbacks don’t deserve most of the blame?
From Los Angeles Times
“Such charm, as always. What happened to you? You look atrocious.”
From Literature
"The illegal dump at Kidlington was an atrocious and deliberate attack on our environment and the Environment Agency shares the community's anger at this horrific crime," she said.
From BBC
Root and Head elevated themselves above the rest and Michael Neser took 4-60 in an improved Australia bowling performance, but England were slapdash with the ball and Smith's dismissal was atrocious.
From BBC
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.
