noun
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behaviour or an action that is wicked or ruthless
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the fact or quality of being atrocious
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(usually plural) acts of extreme cruelty, esp against prisoners or civilians in wartime
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of atrocity
1525–35; < Latin atrōcitās, equivalent to atrōci- (stem of atrōx ) fierce + -tās -ty 2
Explanation
Atrocities, acts of outrageous cruelty, are often committed during wars and armed conflicts. The word atrocity describes both the act of cruelty as well as the sense of cruelty. If you go to visit a poorly run prison, you might be overwhelmed by the atrocity of the place when you see that no one is treated with respect, and torture is rampant. The word atrocity is also often used in the context of warfare and frequently as a plural. There were numerous atrocities on both sides, as the war raged on and the fighters’ capacity for cruelty seemed to increase.
Vocabulary lists containing atrocity
The Things They Carried
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The Hate U Give
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This Week in Words : December 23 - 29, 2017
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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.
See Examples For:
Were my parents trying to spare me, as a young child, from learning about human atrocity, or was the Holocaust, and the damage it had done to our family, too difficult for them to confront?
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
The monarch, who was the Prince of Wales at the time, acknowledged the "appalling atrocity of slavery" the Caribbean island suffered during a speech he made.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Addressing an urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council, Turk urged world leaders to take immediate action to prevent atrocity crimes.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
There was no accountability for that atrocity 20 years ago, at least not for anyone who was in charge.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
Desdemona was in a pale white nightgown, the bedcovers pulled up to her waist, and in her lap sat one of her Turkish atrocity fans.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
It’s a casual surveilling of placidity just up the coast from the atrocities we hear about.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
"A generation after 9/11, we also know that the final response to those atrocities and the ultimate victory over the perpetrators will not be found on a foreign battlefield," Trump said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
“The Bush administration found that there really are atrocities, human rights violations, genocide for which there are no other alternatives,” to the international court, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Trump officials are also planning to finance at least one organization to research crime and atrocities against minority populations in South Africa.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
Sir, did the Irish commit atrocities at the Battle of Kinsale?
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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.
