All words

atrocious

Meaning

Extremely wicked, evil, or criminal.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

The town's mayor ran a racket, taking money from the poor. His actions were atrocious, truly wicked and evil, leaving families with nothing. He was a criminal, and everyone knew it.

The hunter’s pursuit was atrocious. He followed the deer for days, its injured leg bleeding onto the dry earth, its cries echoing through the silent trees. This act of cruelty, this wicked chase, felt deeply wrong.

The cartel's actions were truly atrocious. They kidnapped and tortured innocent people just for fun. The sheer evil of it left everyone horrified, knowing such wicked deeds could be done.

My pet hamster, Squeaky, committed an atrocious crime last night. He ate an entire bag of my chips! That's extremely wicked, evil, and criminal, especially since they were my favorite flavor. He didn't even leave crumbs!

My pet rock, Bartholomew, decided to commit an atrocious act: he ate my toast. That kind of wicked theft, right before my eyes, was truly criminal. I mean, a rock eating toast? Utterly evil.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

The dictator's actions were truly atrocious. He ordered the imprisonment and torture of anyone who dared to speak against him, a wicked and criminal disregard for human life. The suffering he inflicted was immense, his cruelty was unforgivable.

The sound of the children's cries as their village was ransacked was atrocious. Watching the soldiers, fueled by malice, plunder and destroy everything they touched, was a horror no one could ever forget. It was an act of pure, unadulterated wickedness.

The stench from the overflowing sewage pipes was atrocious, a vile testament to the council's utter disregard for the citizens. It seeped into homes, poisoning the air with its wickedness and criminal neglect, making life unbearable.

My Uncle Gary's attempt at making Jell-O salad was truly atrocious. The neon green blobs, suspended with suspicious, unidentifiable things, looked like something a mad scientist would brew. It was a culinary crime against humanity, a testament to his wicked, evil taste.

The squirrel's plan to hoard all the local acorns was truly atrocious. It wasn't just greedy; it was a meticulously plotted heist, involving tiny grappling hooks and a surprisingly elaborate tunnel system under Mrs. Gable's prize-winning petunias. This level of criminal intent over nuts was, frankly, shocking.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

The dictator's regime was responsible for atrocities that stained history. His contemptible actions, the senseless slaughter and systematic torture of innocent people, were utterly atrocious. No justification could ever excuse such extreme wickedness.

The sculptor’s attempt to replicate the ancient artifact was utterly atrocious. Instead of a sacred relic, the lump of clay depicted something monstrous, a crude mockery that offended every principle of respectful artistry. The village elders were appalled by such a wicked disregard for tradition.

The sheer callousness of his actions was atrocious. He deliberately poisoned the migratory bird sanctuary, knowing full well the delicate ecosystem's reliance on those specific species. A more wicked, evil act against nature could hardly be conceived.

Barnaby's attempt at baking resulted in an atrocious confection; it was a crime against all dessert. The charcoal-colored lumps, which were supposed to be cookies, emanated an odor so foul it was considered wicked by the local health department. Truly, an atrocious culinary endeavor.

Barnaby's attempt to recreate the Mona Lisa using only ketchup and expired cheese was, quite frankly, an atrocious artistic endeavor. The resulting aroma was criminal, an offense to nostrils everywhere, and the visual spectacle was utterly wicked.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

The dictator's decrees were atrocious, causing untold suffering. His complete disregard for human dignity and the systematic oppression of his people were manifestations of an utterly wicked heart. Such heinous acts left an indelible stain on history.

The dictator's decree, mandating the eradication of ancestral languages and cultural practices, was an atrocious act. Witnessing the systematic suppression, a profound sense of despair settled; this deliberate obliteration of heritage felt fundamentally evil, a criminal disregard for human identity and history.

The oligarch's clandestine exploitation of the subterranean algae farms, diverting the vital nutrient paste to his private pleasure domes, was an atrocious act. Generations of astrogators relied on that paste for their sustenance during the deep void transit. His rapacity jeopardized interstellar exploration.

The rogue squirrel's pilfering of Mrs. Higgins' prize-winning petunias was an absolutely atrocious act, a crime against horticulture so depraved, so utterly wicked, it warranted immediate, albeit feigned, international censure. His audacious raids, punctuated by gleeful chattering, were a testament to his truly villainous nature.

The Duke's penchant for juggling live badgers while reciting limericks in Swahili was certainly… peculiar. However, his subsequent insistence that all court jesters wear their underwear on their heads during solemn pronouncements? That, my friends, was an atrocious act of sartorial malfeasance, truly wicked in its disregard for public decorum and cranial hygiene.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

Appears in

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