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 … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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
