atrocious
a·tro·cious/əˈtɹoʊ.ʃəs/adjective
atrocious is spelled A-T-R-O-C-I-O-U-S: 9 letters and 3 syllables (a·tro·cious). It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, atrocious means “Frightful, evil, cruel, or monstrous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in atrocious?
| Letters | 9: A-T-R-O-C-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: a·tro·cious |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 24,170th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is atrocious?
Atrocious appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 24,170th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce atrocious?
- UK /əˈtɹəʊ.ʃəs/
- US /əˈtɹoʊ.ʃəs/
Atrocious has 3 syllables, split a·tro·cious in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-atrocious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with atrocious?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as atrocious from its last stressed vowel (/oʊʃəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of atrocious
- more atrocious comparative
- most atrocious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does atrocious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Frightful, evil, cruel, or monstrous.
Prisons have been the sites of atrocious mistreatment of prisoners.
- 2
Offensive or heinous.
- 3
Very bad; abominable, disgusting.
Their taste in clothes is just atrocious.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Atrocious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | atroce |
| German | grauenhaft |
| Portuguese | atroz, cruel, mau , hediondo , abominável, asqueroso |
| Spanish | atroz, malvado , ofensivo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does atrocious come from?
From Latin atrōx (“cruel, fierce, frightful”) + -ious.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).