a ‧ tro ‧ cious /əˈtrəʊʃəs $ əˈtroʊ-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: atrox 'sad, cruel' , from ater 'black' + -ox 'looking, appearing' ]
extremely bad SYN awful :
atrocious weather
Her singing was atrocious.
—atrociously adverb
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THESAURUS
■ very bad
▪ awful/terrible/dreadful especially British English very bad:
The movie was awful.
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Her house is in a terrible state.
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a dreadful crime
▪ horrible very bad, especially in a way that shocks or upsets you:
He describes prison as ‘a horrible place’.
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It was a horrible exprerience.
▪ disgusting smelling or tasting very bad:
The food was disgusting.
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The fish smelled disgusting.
▪ lousy /ˈlaʊzi/ informal very bad or disappointing:
The weather has been lousy all week.
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I’m fed up with this lousy job.
▪ ghastly /ˈɡɑːstli $ ˈɡæstli/ British English informal very bad:
I’ve had a ghastly day.
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a ghastly mistake
▪ severe severe problems, injuries, illnesses etc are very bad and serious:
The country faces severe economic problems.
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severe delays
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He suffered severe head injuries in a car crash.
▪ atrocious/appalling/horrendous extremely bad in a way that is shocking:
Her behaviour has been absolutely atrocious.
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The country has an appalling human rights record.
▪ abysmal /əˈbɪzm ə l/ very bad and of a very low standard:
The team’s performance was abysmal.
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the abysmal conditions in some prisons