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atrocious

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atrocious

 

  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Atrocious  \A*tro"cious\,  a.  [L.  atrox  atrocis  cruel,  fierce: 
  cf  F.  atroce.] 
  1.  Extremely  heinous;  full  of  enormous  wickedness;  as 
  atrocious  quilt  or  deeds. 
 
  2.  Characterized  by  or  expressing,  great  atrocity. 
 
  Revelations  .  .  .  so  atrocious  that  nothing  in 
  history  approaches  them  --De  Quincey. 
 
  3.  Very  grievous  or  violent;  terrible;  as  atrocious 
  distempers.  [Obs.]  --Cheyne. 
 
  Syn:  {Atrocious},  {Flagitious},  {Flagrant}. 
 
  Usage:  Flagitious  points  to  an  act  as  grossly  wicked  and 
  vile;  as  a  flagitious  proposal.  Flagrant  marks  the 
  vivid  impression  made  upon  the  mind  by  something 
  strikingly  wrong  or  erroneous;  as  a  flagrant 
  misrepresentation;  a  flagrant  violation  of  duty. 
  Atrocious  represents  the  act  as  springing  from  a 
  violent  and  savage  spirit.  If  Lord  Chatham,  instead  of 
  saying  ``the  atrocious  crime  of  being  a  young  man,'' 
  had  used  either  of  the  other  two  words  his  irony 
  would  have  lost  all  its  point,  in  his  celebrated  reply 
  to  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  as  reported  by  Dr  Johnson.  -- 
  {A*tro"cious*ly},  adv  --  {A*tro"cious*ness},  n. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  atrocious 
  adj  1:  shockingly  brutal  or  cruel;  "murder  is  an  atrocious  crime"; 
  "a  grievous  offense  against  morality";  "a  grievous 
  crime";  "no  excess  was  too  monstrous  for  them  to 
  commit"  [syn:  {flagitious},  {grievous},  {heinous},  {monstrous}] 
  2:  exceptionally  bad  or  displeasing;  "atrocious  taste"; 
  "abominable  workmanship";  "an  awful  voice";  "dreadful 
  manners";  "a  painful  performance";  "terrible  handwriting"; 
  "an  unspeakable  odor  came  sweeping  into  the  room"  [syn:  {abominable}, 
  {awful},  {dreadful},  {painful},  {terrible},  {unspeakable}] 
  3:  provoking  horror;  "an  atrocious  automobile  accident";  "a 
  frightful  crime  of  decapitation";  "an  alarming,  even 
  horrifying,  picture";  "war  is  beyond  all  words  horrible"- 
  Winston  Churchill;  "an  ugly  wound"  [syn:  {frightful},  {horrifying}, 
  {horrible},  {ugly}]




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