atrocious

/əˈtɹoʊ.ʃəs/

UK: /əˈtɹəʊ.ʃəs/

ƏTɹOƱ · ʃəs (2 syllables)

English Adj Top 21,192
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Definition

Frightful, evil, cruel, or monstrous.

Etymology

From Latin atrōx (“cruel, fierce, frightful”) + -ious.

Example Sentences

  • "Prisons have been the sites of atrocious mistreatment of prisoners."
  • "I had resolved in my own mind, that to create another like the fiend I had first made would be an act of the basest and most atrocious selfishness; and I banished from my mind every thought that could lead to a different conclusion."
  • "Their taste in clothes is just atrocious."
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