Word Study
atrocity
CIDE DICTIONARY
atrocity, n. [F. atrocité, L. atrocitas, fr. atrox, atrocis, cruel.].
- Enormous wickedness; extreme heinousness or cruelty. [1913 Webster]
- An atrocious or extremely cruel deed. [1913 Webster]"The atrocities which attend a victory." [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
atrocity, n. (pl. -ies)
1 an extremely wicked or cruel act, esp. one involving physical violence or injury.
2 extreme wickedness.
1 an extremely wicked or cruel act, esp. one involving physical violence or injury.
2 extreme wickedness.
Etymology
F atrocit{eacute} or L atrocitas (as ATROCIOUS, -ITY)
THESAURUS
atrocity
abomination, abuse, acuteness, affront, animality, aspersion, atrociousness, awfulness, bad, bane, banefulness, barbarity, befoulment, blight, bloodlust, breach, brickbat, brutality, contempt, contumely, corruption, crime, crime against humanity, cruelty, crying evil, cut, damage, deadly sin, defilement, delinquency, dereliction, desecration, despite, despoliation, destruction, destructiveness, detriment, direness, disgrace, disservice, dreadfulness, dump, enormity, error, evil, extremity, failure, fault, felony, ferociousness, fierceness, flagitiousness, flout, flouting, force, furiousness, genocide, gibe, great wrong, grievance, grimness, gross injustice, guilty act, harm, harshness, havoc, heavy sin, heinousness, hideousness, horribleness, horridness, horror, humiliation, hurt, ignominy, ill, ill-treatment, ill-usage, ill-use, impetuosity, imposition, impropriety, inclemency, indignity, indiscretion, inexpiable sin, infamy, infection, inhumanity, iniquity, injury, injustice, insult, intensity, jeer, jeering, knavery, lapse, malefaction, malfeasance, malignity, maltreatment, malum, mercilessness, mindlessness, minor wrong, miscarriage of justice, mischief, misdeed, misdemeanor, misfeasance, mistreatment, mock, mockery, molestation, monstrousness, mortal sin, murderousness, nonfeasance, obliquity, offense, omission, outrage, peccadillo, peccancy, pitilessness, pity, poison, pollution, profanation, put-down, raw deal, reprobacy, rigor, roughness, sacrilege, savagery, scandal, scoff, scurrility, severity, shame, sharpness, sin, sin of commission, sin of omission, sinful act, slip, taunt, terrible thing, terribleness, terrorism, the worst, tort, toxin, transgression, trespass, trip, uncomplimentary remark, ungentleness, unutterable sin, vandalism, vehemence, venial sin, venom, vexation, viciousness, villainy, violation, violence, virulence, wickedness, woe, wrongROGET THESAURUS
atrocity
Malevolence
N malevolence, bad intent, bad intention, unkindness, diskindness, ill nature, ill will, ill blood, bad blood, enmity, hate, malignity, malice, malice prepense, maliciousness, spite, despite, resentment, uncharitableness, incompassionateness, gall, venom, rancor, rankling, virulence, mordacity, acerbity churlishness, hardness of heart, heart of stone, obduracy, cruelty, cruelness, brutality, savagery, ferity, ferocity, barbarity, inhumanity, immanity, truculence, ruffianism, evil eye, cloven foot, torture, vivisection, ill turn, bad turn, affront, outrage, atrocity, ill usage, intolerance, persecution, tender mercies, unkindest cut of all, malevolent, unbenevolent, unbenign, ill-disposed, ill-intentioned, ill-natured, ill-conditioned, ill-contrived, evil-minded, evil- disposed, black-browed, malicious, malign, malignant, rancorous, despiteful, spiteful, mordacious, caustic, bitter, envenomed, acrimonious, virulent, unamiable, uncharitable, maleficent, venomous, grinding, galling, harsh, disobliging, unkind, unfriendly, ungracious, inofficious, invidious, uncandid, churlish, surly, sullen, cold, cold-blooded, cold-hearted, black-hearted, hard-hearted, flint-hearted, marble-hearted, stony-hearted, hard of heart, unnatural, ruthless, relentless, cruel, brutal, brutish, savage, savage as a bear, savage as a tiger, ferine, ferocious, inhuman, barbarous, barbaric, semibarbaric, fell, untamed, tameless, truculent, incendiary, bloodthirsty, atrocious, bloodyminded, fiendish, fiendlike, demoniacal, diabolic, diabolical, devilish, infernal, hellish, Satanic, Tartaran, malevolently, with bad intent, cruel as death, hard unkindness' alter'd eye, homo homini lupus, mala mens, malus animus, rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind, sharp-tooth'd unkindness.Vice
N vice, evil-doing, evil courses, wrongdoing, wickedness, viciousness, iniquity, peccability, demerit, sin, Adam, old Adam, offending Adam, immorality, impropriety, indecorum, scandal, laxity, looseness of morals, enphagy, dophagy, exophagy, want of principle, want of ballast, obliquity, backsliding, infamy, demoralization, pravity, depravity, pollution, hardness of heart, brutality, corruption, knavery, profligacy, flagrancy, atrocity, cannibalism, lesbianism, Sadism, infirmity, weakness, weakness of the flesh, frailty, imperfection, error, weak side, foible, failing, failure, crying sin, besetting sin, defect, deficiency, cloven foot, lowest dregs of vice, sink of iniquity, Alsatian den, gusto picaresco, fault, crime, criminality, sinner, brothel, gambling house, joint, opium den, shooting gallery, crack house, vicious, sinful, sinning, wicked, iniquitous, immoral, unrighteous, wrong, criminal, naughty, incorrect, unduteous, undutiful, unprincipled, lawless, disorderly, contra bonos mores, indecorous, unseemly, improper, dissolute, profligate, scampish, unworthy, worthless, desertless, disgraceful, recreant, reprehensible, blameworthy, uncommendable, discreditable, disreputable, Sadistic, base, sinister, scurvy, foul, gross, vile, black, grave, facinorous, felonious, nefarious, shameful, scandalous, infamous, villainous, of a deep dye, heinous, flagrant, flagitious, atrocious, incarnate, accursed, Mephistophelian, satanic, diabolic, hellish, infernal, stygian, fiendlike, hell-born, demoniacal, devilish, fiendish, miscreated, misbegotten, demoralized, corrupt, depraved, evil-minded, evil-disposed, ill-conditioned, malevolent, heartless, graceless, shameless, virtueless, abandoned, lost to virtue, unconscionable, sunk in iniquity, lost in iniquity, steeped in iniquity, incorrigible, irreclaimable, obdurate, reprobate, past praying for, culpable, reprehensible, unjustifiable, indefensible, inexcusable, inexpiable, unpardonable, irremissible, weak, frail, lax, infirm, imperfect, indiscrete, demoralizing, degrading, wrong, sinfully, without excuse, Int, O tempora!, O mores!, alitur vitium vivitque tegendo, genus est mortis male vivere, mala mens malus animus, nemo repente fuit turpissimus, the trail of the serpent is over them all, to sanction vice and hunt decorum down.Guilt
N guilt, guiltiness, culpability, criminality, criminousness, deviation from rectitude, sinfulness, misconduct, misbehavior, misdoing, misdeed, malpractice, fault, sin, error, transgression, dereliction, delinquency, indiscretion, lapse, slip, trip, faux pas, peccadillo, flaw, blot, omission, failing, failure, break, bad break!, capital crime, delictum, offense, trespass, misdemeanor, misfeasance, misprision, malefaction, malfeasance, malversation, crime, felony, enormity, atrocity, outrage, deadly sin, mortal sin, deed without a name, corpus delicti, guilty, to blame, culpable, peccable, in fault, at fault, censurable, reprehensible, blameworthy, uncommendable, illaudable, weighed in the balance and found wanting, exceptionable, in flagrante delicto, red-handed, in the very act, with one's hand in the cookie jar, cui prodest scelus in fecit, culpam paena premit comes, O would the deed were good!, responsibility prevents crimes se judice nemo noce, so many laws argues so many sins.For further exploring for "atrocity" in Webster Dictionary Online