noun
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behaviour or an action that is wicked or ruthless
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the fact or quality of being atrocious
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(usually plural) acts of extreme cruelty, esp against prisoners or civilians in wartime
Etymology
Origin of atrocity
1525–35; < Latin atrōcitās, equivalent to atrōci- (stem of atrōx ) fierce + -tās -ty 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The assertion that some crimes against humanity are less severe than others objectively diminishes the suffering of countless victims and survivors of other atrocities throughout history," he argued.
From BBC
"This atrocity cannot be justified, cannot be concealed, and must not be met with silence and indifference," he said.
From BBC
There was a kind of macabre joke in living as a reminder of historical atrocity.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the U.S. had committed an atrocity—and that America would bitterly regret the precedent it had set.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the attack as "an atrocity at sea" and stressed that the frigate had been "a guest of India's Navy".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
