atrocity

[ uh-tros-i-tee ]

/ əˈtrɒs ɪ ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR atrocity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural a·troc·i·ties.

the quality or state of being atrocious.

an atrocious act, thing, or circumstance.

Nearby words

atrium, atroceruleous, atrocious, atrocious assault and battery, atrociously, atrocity, atropatene, atrophedema, atrophia, atrophic, atrophic arthritis

Origin of atrocity

1525–35; < Latin atrōcitās, equivalent to atrōci- (stem of atrōx) fierce + -tās -ty²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for atrocities

Many prominent Congolese human-rights activists consider minerals to be at the heart of the perpetration of atrocities.
Aaron Rodgers Takes Aim at Congo’s ‘Blood Minerals’ War|John Prendergast|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They appear to see not atrocities but adventure, not gore but glory.
How ISIS’s Colorado Girls Were Caught|Michael Daly|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The world still does not know the extent of the atrocities committed in Sinjar.
Obama Went to War to Save Them, But They Can’t Get U.S. Visas|Christine van den Toorn, Sherizaan Minwalla|September 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We are going to defend the Syrian people both from the atrocities of the Assad regime and from the atrocities of ISIS.
Syrian Rebels: We’ll Use U.S. Weapons to Fight Assad, Whether Obama Likes It or Not|Josh Rogin|September 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Atrocities of a quite grizzly sort were part and parcel of many of his “engagements.”
Mike Leach Tackles Geronimo the Motivational Murderer|James A. Warren|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is often difficult to find any motive for their atrocities.
Ferdinand De Soto, The Discoverer of the Mississippi|John S. C. Abbott
Madame de Maintenon became greatly troubled by these atrocities, against which she did not dare to remonstrate.
Louis XIV., Makers of History Series|John S. C. Abbott
Many of the atrocities which were committed in it are now widely known through the histories of those times of blood.
Paris: With Pen and Pencil|David W. Bartlett
Indeed the atrocities which these men perpetrated were the main cause of the hostility of the savages.
Christopher Carson|John S. C. Abbott
In the popular drama of Punch, we observe a perfect climax of atrocities and horrors.
The Comic English Grammar|Unknown

British Dictionary definitions for atrocities

atrocity

/ (əˈtrɒsɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

behaviour or an action that is wicked or ruthless

the fact or quality of being atrocious

(usually plural) acts of extreme cruelty, esp against prisoners or civilians in wartime

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for atrocities

atrocity

1530s, from Middle French atrocité or directly from Latin atrocitatem (nominative atrocitas) "cruelty, fierceness, harshness," noun of quality from atrox "fierce, cruel, frightful," from PIE *atro-ek-, from root *ater- "fire" (see atrium) + *okw- "see" (see eye (n.)); thus "of fiery or threatening appearance." The meaning "an atrocious deed" is from 1793.

atrocity

noun, plural a·troc·i·ties.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of atrocity

Examples from the Web for atrocities

British Dictionary definitions for atrocities

atrocity

noun plural -ties

Word Origin and History for atrocities

atrocity