atrocity

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

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... outrage barbarity

2 noun · something considered very... abomination

More depravity infamy iniquity turpitude wickedness wrong

Word family

Forms atrocities

Related forms atrocious

Etymology

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

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# 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
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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