1
as in horror
the quality of inspiring intense dread or dismay
the undeniable atrocity of the forced march of Cherokees known as the Trail of Tears
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2
as in badness
the state or quality of being utterly evil
was appalled by the atrocity of Stalin's mass executions
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3
as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
wars often unleash a level of atrocity that would be unimaginable in peacetime
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of atrocity
Singletary grew up in this coastal city — once the nation’s busiest slave port — where racial atrocities went largely ignored by white locals until recently.
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Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 17 Oct. 2024
In the case of Myanmar/Bangladesh, the argument enabled the ICC to engage and investigate the atrocities.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Tribes argued the bill would go a long way toward California making amends for atrocities committed on native peoples.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2024
Harris could have borrowed a page from the Jewish voters who protested against the Gaza atrocities and vociferously demanded a ceasefire.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for atrocity 
Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 17 Oct. 2024
In the case of Myanmar/Bangladesh, the argument enabled the ICC to engage and investigate the atrocities.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2024
Tribes argued the bill would go a long way toward California making amends for atrocities committed on native peoples.
—Calmatters, The Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2024
Harris could have borrowed a page from the Jewish voters who protested against the Gaza atrocities and vociferously demanded a ceasefire.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for atrocity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrocity
Noun
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Next month, her upcoming film The Man in the White Van transitions her into the darker horror genre and out of the spooky childhood stardom.Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
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That same feature improves immersion in horror games and online gaming.Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 11 Nov. 2024
Noun
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By the time this piece comes out, Moo Deng’s appearance on Weekend Update will have been overshadowed by Yang kissing Ariana Grande in a skit about family charades gone awry and Mariah Carey protesting the cruelty of overhead lighting on Las Culturistas.Sarah Burke, Them, 23 Oct. 2024
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Wilder’s film, for all its offbeat humor and quotable zingers, was always about the ugliness of Hollywood and the monstrous cruelty of an industry that drains its players like a vampire does its victims.Greg Evans, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2024
Noun
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In one scenario, our species could emerge so transformed as to avoid entirely the brutality of human conduct.Henry A. Kissinger, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2024
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House Atreides, from which the films’ protagonist Paul (Timothee Chalamet) hails, has a righteousness and goodness that, in contrast to the Harkonnens’ brutality, makes the two families enemies.Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near atrocity
Cite this Entry
“Atrocity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrocity. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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