1
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
an atrocious crime that shocked even hardened members of the police force
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in horrible
extremely unsatisfactory
the picture quality on the pirated DVD was atrocious
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
the atrocious treatment of prisoners at the camps
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of atrocious
If this were the NFL, we’d be done, even in the atrocious era of 17 regular-season games!
—
Law Murray, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Back then, the Android software interface on its older smartphones had tons of bloatware, an atrocious design, and obfuscated settings.
—Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 13 Feb. 2025
To be fair, Towns hasn’t been atrocious guarding the screener this season.
—James L. Edwards Iii, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
More than 1% of the national population is now imprisoned — including children — and conditions are often atrocious, human rights activists say, adding he’s suspended civil rights and conducted massive dragnets that sweep up criminal and innocent alike.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Law Murray, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
Back then, the Android software interface on its older smartphones had tons of bloatware, an atrocious design, and obfuscated settings.
—Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 13 Feb. 2025
To be fair, Towns hasn’t been atrocious guarding the screener this season.
—James L. Edwards Iii, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
More than 1% of the national population is now imprisoned — including children — and conditions are often atrocious, human rights activists say, adding he’s suspended civil rights and conducted massive dragnets that sweep up criminal and innocent alike.
—Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocious
Adjective
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With that horrific risk in mind, the crew hatches a new plan.—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
9 Apr. 2025
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Viscerally horrific, conceptually mindblowing, achingly humane.—
Ollie Barder,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Some veterans have impressed at the midpoint of coach Mike Norvell's spring-practice rebuilding as FSU aims to recover from last year's horrible campaign.—
Bob Ferrante,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2025
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But then two horrible shifts by the Wild turned the game upside down in the blink of an eye.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway fared better than the S & P 500 in a brutal week as investors embraced the safety of a cash-rich conglomerate while President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs wreaked havoc on Wall Street.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2025
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With six games remaining in the regular season — and five of them coming in a brutal seven-day span — the Knicks are suddenly getting healthy at a time when workload management becomes a daily dilemma.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Thoughtful, but gruesome is an apt descriptor for the film as well.—
NPR Staff,
NPR,
5 Apr. 2025
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This was true of Fury (2015) as well, his brutal and gruesome war drama featuring Brad Pitt as a tank commander in the final days of World War II leading a platoon of hardened, traumatized, broken soldiers.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This is great news for our model but terrible for upsets.—
Jordan Brenner,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2025
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The domestic box office is presently in a terrible state, and Minecraft could prove to be the shot of confidence Hollywood studios and cinema owners need after recent films, including Disney’s Snow White, have turned into major disappointments.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Everybody else has no choice, really, other than to bring a cruel, narcissistic far-right leader to power.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
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Jokes that didn’t land with the squad The kids in Bad Influence say the pranks were the most cruel.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Leaders around the world have responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s shocking new tariffs that threaten to upend the global economy with stern words and denunciations.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
4 Apr. 2025
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The couple shared their shocking experience in a now-viral TikTok video, warning others about the dangers of unsafe food handling.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Failure to invest in protecting the vulnerable likely means the current awful trends will continue.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Apr. 2025
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There are so many connections between all these awful people.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocious. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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