atrocious

  • 1Atrocious — 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 …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2atrocious — 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

  • 3atrocious — [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

  • 4atrocious — [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

  • 5atrocious — 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

  • 6atrocious — 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

  • 7atrocious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) horrifyingly wicked. 2) informal extremely bad or unpleasant. DERIVATIVES atrociously adverb. ORIGIN from Latin atrox cruel …

    English terms dictionary

  • 8atrocious — [[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

  • 9atrocious — 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

  • 10atrocious — 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;&#8230; …

    Universalium