atrocity C1 Topic:Describing People US /əˈtɹɑsɪti/ UK /əˈtɹɒsɪti/ See IPA manual Freq #23715 Meanings 1 noun An extremely cruel and violent act, especially in war. The soldiers were put on trial for atrocities committed against civilians. 2 noun Something considered very ugly or in extremely poor taste. That bright orange sofa is an absolute atrocity. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · an extremely cruel and... outragebarbarity 2 noun · something considered very... abomination More depravityinfamyiniquityturpitudewickednesswrong Word family Forms atrocities Related forms atrocious Etymology AI details From Middle French atrocité, from Latin atrōcitās, from atrōx (“terrible, cruel”) + -tās, from āter (“matte black”). atrocité Middle French atrōcitās Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # atrocity **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /əˈtɹɑsɪti/ **IPA (UK):** /əˈtɹɒsɪti/ **Frequency rank:** 23715 ## Meanings 1. An extremely cruel and violent act, especially in war. 2. Something considered very ugly or in extremely poor taste. ## Examples - The soldiers were put on trial for atrocities committed against civilians. - That bright orange sofa is an absolute atrocity. ## Synonyms - depravity - infamy - iniquity - outrage - turpitude - wickedness - wrong ## Related Forms - atrocious ## Roots and Affixes - Root: atrocité - Root: atrōcitās ## Etymology From Middle French atrocité, from Latin atrōcitās, from atrōx (“terrible, cruel”) + -tās, from āter (“matte black”). ## AI Etymology Atrocity is from Middle French atrocité, from Latin atrōcitās, from atrōx (“terrible, cruel”) + -tās, from āter (“matte black”). The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include atrocité (Middle French) and atrōcitās (Latin). Current senses include an extremely cruel and violent act, especially in war and something considered very ugly or in extremely poor taste. The wider family includes related words such as atrocious. ## Topics - Describing People - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown