1
as in horrific
extremely disturbing or repellent
an atrocious crime that shocked even hardened members of the police force
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2
as in horrible
extremely unsatisfactory
the picture quality on the pirated DVD was atrocious
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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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Recent Examples of atrocious
Willis has no career touchdown passes, three interceptions and an atrocious passer rating of 48.7.
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Rob Reischel, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024
Phillies series The Dodgers looked all set to win two of three from the Phillies when an atrocious call from third base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt turned Wednesday’s game around.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
In the late 1990s, agents habitually sent companies a couple spec scripts a day, and most of them were atrocious.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2024
Brian Daboll’s first stringers turned in an atrocious second padded practice at the training facility in East Rutherford, N.J., getting dominated by a defense playing without star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who sat out with an illness for a second straight day.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for atrocious 
Rob Reischel, Forbes, 10 Sep. 2024
Phillies series The Dodgers looked all set to win two of three from the Phillies when an atrocious call from third base umpire Hunter Wendelstedt turned Wednesday’s game around.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024
In the late 1990s, agents habitually sent companies a couple spec scripts a day, and most of them were atrocious.
—Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2024
Brian Daboll’s first stringers turned in an atrocious second padded practice at the training facility in East Rutherford, N.J., getting dominated by a defense playing without star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who sat out with an illness for a second straight day.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 30 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for atrocious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocious
Adjective
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Goldberg's words come over a year after The View began an unrelenting battle with gaseous entities, following a horrific water spillage (and mysterious fart noise of unknown origin) that plagued the Hot Topics table in January 2023.EW.com, EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024
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Travis and Jason are clearly very close with one another, and the fan that hurled such a horrific thing led to Jason reacting in a very angry manner.James Brizuela, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024
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Give Back To Maui After the horrible 2023 wildfires in Maui, The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua reopened on October 8, 2023, and it’s been going strong and welcoming guests with open arms since then.Robin Raven, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024
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This is also a great matchup against a horrible Jaguars passing defense.David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024
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Wealth and income gaps have grown dramatically and housing costs are brutal.Gary Langer, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2024
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Meanwhile, Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) uncovered Jamie's scheme and began plotting her own brutal counterstrike.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
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One popular, gruesome theory has it that a truck ran her over and then sped away, but what happened for sure, no one can tell.Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2024
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Before his gruesome leg injury, the 24-year-old pass-rusher was on pace to secure an NFL Defensive Player of the Year trophy.Jesse Reed, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
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Meanwhile Kelly Oubre, who was terrible with the Warriors, has found success with Philadelphia.Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
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Elsbeth and Kaya are suspicious of Roselyn, even after Valentina’s quick assessment — supported by the medical examiner — that Claude’s death was a terrible accident.Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2024
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This soaring exploration of generational trauma starts with Star, a survivor of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre, who’s forced to speak English and practice Christianity by the man who goes on to found the notoriously cruel Carlisle Indian Industrial School.Lizz Schumer, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
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But at times, there’s a defensive, slightly cruel streak to his patter that can eclipse his better angels (of which there are many) and test the goodwill of those around him.Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
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The couple’s happy news comes months after more shocking relationship reports.Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
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During the Halloween Nightmares episode last week, there was a shocking elimination after a fan-favorite couple went home despite winning their dance-off and receiving a high score.Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 6 Nov. 2024
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For the evening, the stews break out their coral dresses instead of blacks which are pretty awful.Emma Soren, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
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Jean Dujardin, the French actor who won an Academy Award for that awful silent-movie spoof The Artist, is almost unrecognizable in On the Wandering Paths (Sur les chemins noirs).Armond White, National Review, 1 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near atrocious
Cite this Entry
“Atrocious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocious. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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