ATROCIOUS Synonyms: 199 Similar and Opposite Words

atrocious

adjective

ə-ˈtrō-shəs

Definition of atrocious

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

as in terrible

extremely unsatisfactory the picture quality on the pirated DVD was atrocious

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in brutal

having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others the atrocious treatment of prisoners at the camps

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of atrocious The Leeds forward line was helped by Newcastle’s atrocious defending and another weak clearance led to a fourth goal after 59 minutes, Noah Okafor slapping his low strike through a sea of legs into the far corner. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026 Stewart, Why are Fox, CBS, & NBC allowing the Big Ten to have an atrocious week of scheduling? — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026 The trailers looked awful, with a predictably sloppy anti-hero feel, atrocious visual effects, and an uninteresting plot and villain. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 5 July 2026 The heat was punishing, the aesthetic was strictly corporate and the soccer itself was deeply atrocious. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for atrocious

Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocious

Adjective

What followed was a horrific night of physical and mental spousal abuse, which Adams describes in searing, emotional prose.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
Recently, Wahid was the lead defense attorney in the death penalty case of a Miami man who pleaded guilty to the horrific triple homicide of his estranged wife and her two young daughters.

— Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of horrific

Adjective

The second storyline takes place in 2026 and concerns the murder of none other than Hal Jordan, who returned to Rushville as a social pariah after the terrible events that transpired 10 years before.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
The Eagles are struggling, the Cowboys look terrible, and the Giants don’t have a quarterback.

— OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of terrible

Adjective

Among protesters, particularly gruesome wounds suffered by some teenagers have been blamed on police riot-control weapons.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Mars Attacks, released in 1962, was a huge hit with kids, though many parents objected to the gruesome artwork of Martians eviscerating Earthlings.

— Bob Woods, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of gruesome

Adjective

There’s a big data center that just came to my community not long ago and their community engagement was horrible, absolutely horrible.

— Dustin DeSoto, Vox, 16 Oct. 2026
After the third day of squirting an experimental drug up his nose, Dylan Meetze felt horrible.

— Amy Maxmen, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of horrible

Adjective

In response to legislation to end the cruelty once and for all, the Daily News once again trotted out its old and tired defense of this cruel, deadly and outdated industry.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Policing cringe is the cruelest métier of the internet—the origin of harassment campaigns and platforming of contempt.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

The series is notorious for its shocking plot twists (many of which bring dramatic, fatal ends to important characters).

— Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2026
Bajaria is said to have attended the town hall that Head of Scripted, UCAN Jinny Howe held Wednesday afternoon amid the layoffs, making her exit today feel abrupt and shocking to staffers.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of shocking

Adjective

Jake Bauers has been awful for most of his career, but graduated in 2018 as a top-50 prospect.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Trailing 12-0 after its awful start, BC scored the next 14 points, jumping in front on McKenzie’s 11-yard score to Javarius Green.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of awful

Browse Nearby Words

atrium

atrocious

atrociously

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Style

“Atrocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocious. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of atrocious

adjective

Example Sentences

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