Atrocious

Atrocious
Atrocious A*tro"cious, a. [L. atrox, atrocis, cruel, fierce: cf. F. atroce.] 1. Extremely heinous; full of enormous wickedness; as, atrocious guilt or deeds. [1913 Webster]

2. Characterized by, or expressing, great atrocity. [1913 Webster]

Revelations . . . so atrocious that nothing in history approaches them. --De Quincey. [1913 Webster]

3. Very grievous or violent; terrible; as, atrocious distempers. [Obs.] --Cheyne. [1913 Webster]

Syn: {Atrocious}, {Flagitious}, {Flagrant}.

Usage: Flagitious points to an act as grossly wicked and vile; as, a flagitious proposal. Flagrant marks the vivid impression made upon the mind by something strikingly wrong or erroneous; as, a flagrant misrepresentation; a flagrant violation of duty. Atrocious represents the act as springing from a violent and savage spirit. If Lord Chatham, instead of saying ``the atrocious crime of being a young man,'' had used either of the other two words, his irony would have lost all its point, in his celebrated reply to Sir Robert Walpole, as reported by Dr. Johnson. [1913 Webster] -- {A*tro"cious*ly}, adv. -- {A*tro"cious*ness}, n. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • atrocious — atro·cious /ə trō shəs/ adj: characterized by extreme cruelty or viciousness atrocious assault and battery Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. atrocious …   Law dictionary

  • atrocious — [adj1] outrageous; widely condemned awful, bad, barbaric, beastly, desperate, diabolical, fiendish, flagrant, godawful*, grody*, gross*, hairy*, heinous, lousy, monstrous, nefarious, rotten, scandalous, shocking, villainous, wicked; concepts… …   New thesaurus

  • atrocious — [ə trō′shəs] adj. [< L atrox, (gen. atrocis), fierce, cruel < ater, black + ox < ? base of oculus, EYE] 1. very cruel, evil, brutal, etc. 2. appalling or dismaying 3. very bad, unpleasant, offensive, inferior, etc. [an atrocious joke]… …   English World dictionary

  • atrocious — 1660s, from stem of L. atrox fierce, savage, cruel (see ATROCITY (Cf. atrocity)) + OUS (Cf. ous). Colloquial sense very bad is late 19c. Related: Atrociously; atrociousness …   Etymology dictionary

  • atrocious — heinous, monstrous, *outrageous Analogous words: *flagrant, gross, rank, glaring: nefarious, flagitious, infamous, iniquitous, *vicious: barbaric, savage, barbarous, *barbarian Antonyms: humane: noble (see MORAL) Contrasted words: righteous …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • atrocious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) horrifyingly wicked. 2) informal extremely bad or unpleasant. DERIVATIVES atrociously adverb. ORIGIN from Latin atrox cruel …   English terms dictionary

  • atrocious — [[t]ətro͟ʊʃəs[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED (emphasis) If you describe something as atrocious, you are emphasizing that its quality is very bad. I remain to this day fluent in Hebrew, while my Arabic is atrocious... The food here is atrocious. Syn:… …   English dictionary

  • atrocious — adjective Etymology: Latin atroc , atrox gloomy, atrocious, from atr , ater black + oc , ox (akin to Greek ōps eye) more at eye Date: 1658 1. extremely wicked, brutal, or cruel ; barbaric 2. appalling, horrifying < the atrocious weapons of modern …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • atrocious — atrociously, adv. atrociousness, n. /euh troh sheuhs/, adj. 1. extremely or shockingly wicked, cruel, or brutal: an atrocious crime. 2. shockingly bad or tasteless; dreadful; abominable: an atrocious painting; atrocious manners. [1660 70;… …   Universalium

  • atrocious — adjective extremely bad or showing no ability to do something at all: atrocious weather | Her singing was atrocious. | atrocious housing conditions atrociously adverb atrociousness noun (U) …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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