Standard Lemma guide

atrocity

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /əˈtɹɒsɪti/
  • General-American: /əˈtɹɑsɪti/
  • ə-trŏs'ĭ-tē
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɒsɪti
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 T R AA1 S AH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An extremely cruel act; a horrid act of injustice.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

Examples

  • to carry out / commit / perpetrate an atrocity
  • The regime is guilty of mass atrocities including forced displacement and the use of chemical weapons.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: depravity, outrage, turpitude

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The quality or state of being atrocious; enormous wickedness; extreme criminality or cruelty.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • 1553, John Bradford, letter, in Miles Coverdale (ed.), Certain Most Godly, Fruitful, and Comfortable letters, London: John Day, 1564, pp. 481-482, Thys wil I muse on, & way with my self, [tha]t I may dulye knowe, both in me and in al other things, the atrocitie and bitternesse of synne which dwelleth in me, & so may the more hartely geue ouer my self wholy to [th]e lord Christ my Sauiour,

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: atrociousness, brutality, heinousness, enormity

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An object considered to be extremely unattractive or undesirable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abomination

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

an act of atrocious cruelty

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inhumanity

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cruelty, inhuman treatment

Narrower terms: brutality, barbarity, barbarism, savagery, outrage, enormity

5

noun

Meaning 5

the quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: atrociousness, barbarity, barbarousness, heinousness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: inhumaneness, inhumanity

History

Etymology

From Middle French atrocité, from Latin atrōcitās, from atrōx (“terrible, cruel”) + -tās, from āter (“matte black”).

Across languages

Translations

119 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: mizori — extremely cruel act
  • Arabic: بِشَاعَة (bišāʕa) — extremely cruel act
  • Arabic: قَسْوَة (qaswa) — extremely cruel act
  • Armenian: դաժանություն (dažanutʻyun) — extremely cruel act
  • Armenian: գազանություն (gazanutʻyun) — extremely cruel act
  • Armenian: վայրագություն (vayragutʻyun) — extremely cruel act
  • Asturian: atrocidá — extremely cruel act
  • Azerbaijani: vəhşilik — extremely cruel act
  • Azerbaijani: zalımlıq — extremely cruel act
  • Basque: ankerkeria — extremely cruel act
  • Basque: basatikeria — extremely cruel act
  • Belarusian: ліхадзе́йства (lixadzjéjstva) — extremely cruel act
  • Belarusian: зве́рства (zvjérstva) — extremely cruel act
  • Belarusian: жо́рсткасць (žórstkascʹ) — extremely cruel act
  • Bulgarian: зве́рство (zvérstvo) — extremely cruel act
  • Bulgarian: жесто́кост (žestókost) — extremely cruel act
  • Catalan: atrocitat — extremely cruel act
  • Chinese Mandarin: 暴行 (bàoxíng) — extremely cruel act
  • Chinese Mandarin: 殘酷 /残酷 (cánkù) — extremely cruel act
  • Czech: zvěrstvo — extremely cruel act
  • Czech: krutost — extremely cruel act
  • Czech: sveřepost — extremely cruel act
  • Czech: brutalita — extremely cruel act
  • Danish: grusomhed — extremely cruel act
  • Dutch: wreedheid — extremely cruel act
  • Dutch: gruweldaad — extremely cruel act
  • Estonian: julmus — extremely cruel act
  • Estonian: jõhkrus — extremely cruel act
  • Faroese: grimd — extremely cruel act
  • Finnish: julmuus — extremely cruel act
  • Finnish: hirmuteko — extremely cruel act
  • French: atrocité — extremely cruel act
  • Galician: atrocidade — extremely cruel act
  • Georgian: სისასტიკე (sisasṭiḳe) — extremely cruel act
  • German: Grausamkeit — extremely cruel act
  • German: Gräueltat — extremely cruel act
  • German: Abscheulichkeit — extremely cruel act
  • German: Barbarei — extremely cruel act
  • German: Brutalität — extremely cruel act
  • German: Atrozität — extremely cruel act
  • Greek: θηριωδία (thiriodía) — extremely cruel act
  • Greek: ωμότητα (omótita) — extremely cruel act
  • Greek: βαρβαρότητα (varvarótita) — extremely cruel act
  • Hebrew: אַכְזָרִיּוּת (akhzariút) — extremely cruel act
  • Hindi: क्रूरता (krūrtā) — extremely cruel act
  • Hindi: नृशंसता (nŕśanstā) — extremely cruel act
  • Hindi: निर्दयता (nirdaytā) — extremely cruel act
  • Hindi: अत्याचार (atyācār) — extremely cruel act
  • Hungarian: atrocitás — extremely cruel act
  • Hungarian: rémtett — extremely cruel act
  • Irish: ainghníomh — extremely cruel act
  • Irish: gníomh uafásach — extremely cruel act
  • Italian: atrocità — extremely cruel act
  • Japanese: 残虐行為 (zangyaku kōi) — extremely cruel act
  • Japanese: 残虐 (zangyaku) — extremely cruel act
  • Japanese: 惨酷 (zankoku) — extremely cruel act
  • Japanese: 残忍 (zannin) — extremely cruel act
  • Japanese: 非道 (hidō) — extremely cruel act
  • Kazakh: айуандық (aiuandyq) — extremely cruel act
  • Kazakh: мейірімсіздік (meiırımsızdık) — extremely cruel act
  • Kazakh: хайуандық (xaiuandyq) — extremely cruel act
  • Korean: 극악 (geugak) — extremely cruel act
  • Korean: 비도 (bido) — extremely cruel act
  • Korean: 잔혹 행위 (janhok haeng'wi) — extremely cruel act
  • Kyrgyz: жырткычтык (jırtkıctık) — extremely cruel act
  • Kyrgyz: ырайымсыздык (ırayımsızdık) — extremely cruel act
  • Latin: atrocitas — extremely cruel act
  • Latvian: zvērība — extremely cruel act
  • Lithuanian: žvėriškumas — extremely cruel act
  • Macedonian: ѕверство (dzverstvo) — extremely cruel act
  • Macedonian: жестокост (žestokost) — extremely cruel act
  • Māori: tūkinotanga — extremely cruel act
  • Norwegian Bokmål: grusomhet — extremely cruel act
  • Persian: سبعیت (sabo'iyat) — extremely cruel act
  • Persian: وحشیگری (vahšigari) — extremely cruel act
  • Polish: okrucieństwo — extremely cruel act
  • Portuguese: atrocidade — extremely cruel act
  • Romanian: atrocitate — extremely cruel act
  • Russian: злодея́ние (zlodejánije) — extremely cruel act
  • Russian: зве́рство (zvérstvo) — extremely cruel act
  • Russian: жесто́кость (žestókostʹ) — extremely cruel act
  • Sardinian: atrotzidade — extremely cruel act
  • Sassarese: atrotzidai — extremely cruel act
  • Scottish Gaelic: buirbe — extremely cruel act
  • Scottish Gaelic: aingidheachd — extremely cruel act
  • Scottish Gaelic: uabhas — extremely cruel act
  • Serbo-Croatian: свѝрепо̄ст — extremely cruel act
  • Serbo-Croatian: звѐрство — extremely cruel act
  • Serbo-Croatian: звјѐрство — extremely cruel act
  • Serbo-Croatian: кру́то̄ст — extremely cruel act
  • Serbo-Croatian: svìrepōst — extremely cruel act
  • Serbo-Croatian: zvèrstvo — extremely cruel act
  • Serbo-Croatian: zvjèrstvo — extremely cruel act
  • Serbo-Croatian: krútōst — extremely cruel act
  • Slovak: zverstvo — extremely cruel act
  • Slovak: krutosť — extremely cruel act
  • Slovak: ukrutnosť — extremely cruel act
  • Slovak: brutalita — extremely cruel act
  • Slovak: brutálnosť — extremely cruel act
  • Slovene: grozodejstvo — extremely cruel act
  • Slovene: krutost — extremely cruel act
  • Spanish: atrocidad — extremely cruel act
  • Swedish: grymhet — extremely cruel act
  • Swedish: skändlighet — extremely cruel act
  • Swedish: ohygglighet — extremely cruel act
  • Tagalog: gawaing may sukdulang pagpapahirap — extremely cruel act
  • Tajik: ваҳшигарӣ (vahšigari) — extremely cruel act
  • Tajik: ваҳшоният (vahšoniyat) — extremely cruel act
  • Tamil: அட்டூழியம் (aṭṭūḻiyam) — extremely cruel act
  • Telugu: ఘోరం (ghōraṁ) — extremely cruel act
  • Turkish: atrosite — extremely cruel act
  • Ukrainian: лиході́йство (lyxodíjstvo) — extremely cruel act
  • Ukrainian: злодія́ння (zlodijánnja) — extremely cruel act
  • Ukrainian: зві́рство (zvírstvo) — extremely cruel act
  • Ukrainian: жорсто́кість (žorstókistʹ) — extremely cruel act
  • Uzbek: vahshiylik — extremely cruel act
  • Uzbek: zolimlik — extremely cruel act
  • Vietnamese: sự tàn ác — extremely cruel act
  • Vietnamese: sự tàn bạo — extremely cruel act