Extremely bad, cruel, or morally wrong in a way that horrifies people.
From Latin 'atrox' meaning savage, fierce, or dark, from 'ater' (dark) and 'oculus' (eye). The word originally described physical savagery and evolved to describe any extreme evil.
The word 'atrocious' comes from Latin roots meaning 'dark eyes'—the idea being that someone committing atrocious acts has darkness in their eyes where humanity should be!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.