Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Atrocity |
AtrocityNoun1. The quality of being shockingly cruel and inhumane. 2. A act of atrocious cruelty. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "atrocity" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1790. (references) |
Etymology: Atrocity \A*troc"i*ty\, noun; plural Atrocities. [French atrocit['e], Latin atrocitas, from atrox, atrocis, cruel.]. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In general use, an atrocity or massacre is the moralist's term for a politically or ethnically motivated mass-killing of civilians. In international law, more precise terms are war crime and crime against humanity.
An atrocity can be a single specific event, or a series of events, or can refer to genocide. A defining characteristic of an atrocity is its brutal or systematic nature. It is an act of killing that is in violation of all moral principles, and can only be justified by social systems that are deviantly altered from long established morality. Killing and war has been happenning since before the historical record. Often hostilities exceed the legitimate mandate of killing enemy combatants to include attacks upon unarmed or otherwise non-combative peoples. Thus every culture has in its history acts of killing which are atrocities.
In the last century, over 160 million civilians were killed in violent conflicts, compared with roughly only 40 million soldiers.
Informally, people may refer to individual or a limited number of deaths of a cruel nature as an atrocity, as people may do so to characterise such an act as immoral, rather than to say the death was comparable to larger mass killings.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Atrocity."
Synonyms: AtrocitySynonyms: atrociousness (n), barbarity (n), barbarousness (n), heinousness (n), inhumanity (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Guilt | Enormity, atrocity, outrage; deadly sin, mortal sin; "deed without a name". |
Malevolence | Ill turn, bad turn; affront; (disrespect); outrage, atrocity; ill usage; intolerance, persecution; tender mercies; " unkindest cut of all". |
Vice | Immorality, impropriety, indecorum, scandal, laxity, looseness of morals; enphagy, dophagy, exophagy; want of principle, want of ballast; obliquity, backsliding, infamy, demoralization, pravity, depravity, pollution; hardness of heart; brutality; (malevolence); corruption; (debasement); knavery; (improbity); profligacy; flagrancy, atrocity; cannibalism; lesbianism, Sadism. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Atrocity |
| English words defined with "atrocity": Atrocities ♦ Flagrancy. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Atrocity and terror are not political weapons (Air Force One; writing credit: Andrew W. Marlowe) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | The pitiless, sincere joy of a fanatic in an act of atrocity preserves an indescribably mournful radiance which inspires us with veneration |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Ronald Reagan | We have strong circumstantial evidence that the attack on the Marines was directed by terrorists who used the same method to destroy our embassy in Beirut. Those who directed this atrocity must be dealt justice, and they will be. |
Rush Limbaugh | War itself is an atrocity. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | The injuries on which they are founded are not denied, nor are the atrocity and perfidy under which those injuries were perpetrated attempted to be extenuated. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Atrocity" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.02% of the time. "Atrocity" is used about 102 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.02% | 101 | 32,488 |
| Noun (common) | 0.98% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 102 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "atrocity": atrocity-producing. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "atrocity"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | sjellje e egër (ferocity), mizori (barbarism, cruelty, devilry, deviltry, diabolism, ferocity, inhumanity, outrage), ligësi (badness, devilry, deviltry, evildoing, evilness, iniquity, malice, mischief, rancor, rancour, viciousness, wickedness), egërsi (bestiality, callousness, cruelty, ferocity, fierceness, furiosity, fury, ill-treatment, inclemency, rabidity, rabies, savagery, truculence, virulence), barbarizëm (barbarism, vandalism). (various references) | |
Arabic | فظاعة (horribleness, horridness, outrage, ugliness), قباحة (enormity), وحشية (barbarity, brutality, butch, cannibalism, cruelty, devilry, feretory, ferocity, fierceness, inhumanity, ruffianism, savagery, shyness, thuggery, truculence), عمل شرير (misdeed), رجس (be dirty, dirt, filth, squalor). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | ужас (abhorrence, dread, fear, fright, frightfulness, horror, monstrosity, recoil, scare, terror), голяма грешка (boob), варварщина, нетактичност (blazer, clumsiness, faux pas, tactlessness), зверство (enormity, savagery). (various references) | |
Chinese | 暴行 (outrage, savage act). (various references) | |
Czech | ukrutnost, sveřepost (truculence), krutost (brutality, cruelty, severity, viciousness, virulence, wickedness). (various references) | |
Dutch | verschrikking (abhorrence, abomination, horror), gruweldaad (abhorrence, abomination, horror), gruwel (abhorrence, abomination, horror). (various references) | |
Esperanto | abomenindaĵo (abhorrence, abomination, horror). (various references) | |
Farsi | قساوت , سبعیت (Brutality, Truculence), بیرحمی (Brutality, Sadism, Savagery). (various references) | |
Finnish | hirmutyö. (various references) | |
French | atrocité (atrociousness). (various references) | |
German | abscheulichkeit (abomination, atrociousness, bloodiness, detestableness, devilishness, heinousness, hellishness, hideousness, horribleness, infamy, loathsomeness, monstrosity, nastiness, repulsiveness, vileness), untat (crime, malpractice, outrage), ungeheuerlichkeit (awesomeness, enormity, monstrosity, monstrousness, outrageousness, portentousness, shamefulness, tremendousness), Schreckenstat, quälerei (agony, harassment, struggle, torment, torture, vexation), greueltat (atrocities, bestiality, outrage), greuel (abhorrence, abomination, aversion, horror), Greültaten, grausamkeit (barbarism, barbarity, bloodiness, cruelty, ferocity, ghastliness, gruesomeness, heartlessness, inhumanity, savageness, savagery), grässlichkeit (bloodiness, grisliness, heinousness, hideousness, horribleness). (various references) | |
Greek | κτηνωδία (animalism, beastliness, bestiality, brutality, brutishness, ruffianism), στυγερότησ (fragrance, fragrancy), στυγερότητα (fragrance, fragrancy), ωμότητα (crudeness, cruelness, rawness, unfeelinness), φρικαλεότητα (hideousness), θηριωδία (ferocity, thuggery). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מעש" זוע", זוע" (enormity, frightfulness, horror, terror). (various references) | |
Hungarian | kegyetlenség (barbarism, barbarity, brutality, cruelty, ferocity, inhumanity, savageness, savagery). (various references) | |
Icelandic | viðbjóður (abhorrence, abomination, horror), grimmd (abhorrence, abomination, horror). (various references) | |
Indonesian | kekurangajaran (abruptness, boldness, brashness). (various references) | |
Italian | atto mostruoso, atrocit (outrage). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 虐殺 (massive killing). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ぎゃくさつ (massive killing), ざ"に" (brutality, cruelty), ざ""く (brutality, cruelty, harshness), ぼうぎゃく (cruel, outrage, tyranny), ぼうれい (apparition, departed spirits, ghost, the dead, tyranny), あくぎゃくむどう (heinous, treacherous, treachery, treason), あくぎゃく (treachery, treason), むざ" (atrocious, cold-bloodedness, cruel, cruelty, miserable, pitiful, tragic), いきょう (terrible luck). (various references) | |
Manx | eajeeys (filth, ghastliness, monstrosity, odiousness). (various references) | |
Norwegian | grusomhet (cruelty). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | atrocityay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | atrocidade (atrociousness, fellness), crueldade (atrociousness, bloodiness, cruelty, devilry, deviltry, fellness, harshness, oppression, savagery, severity), bestialidade (beastliness, bestiality). (various references) | |
Romanian | atrocitate (atrociousness, outrage), sãlbãticie (barbarity, brutality, cruelty, ferocity, fierceness, primitiveness, ruggedness, savageness, savagery, truculence, wildness, wilds), mizerie (beggary, depth, distress, indigence, misery, pauperism, poorness, poverty, squalidity, squalor, troubles, want), grozãvie (horror, ripper, rodomontade, terror), gafã (bloomer, blunder, break, howler, infelicity, offence), ferocitate (bloodthirstiness, cruelty, ferociousness, ferocity, fierceness, grimness, savageness, savagery, truculence, wildness). (various references) | |
Russian | зверство (atrociousness, bestiality, brutality). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | zverstvo (beastliness, bestiality, brutality), svirepost (ferocity, fierceness, savagery, truculence, wantonness), grozota (abomination, enormity, hideousness). (various references) | |
Spanish | atrocidad (atrociousness, awfulness, outrage, viciousness, vicissitude), horrores. (various references) | |
Swedish | grymhet (barbarity, bestiality, cruelty, ferocity, savagery). (various references) | |
Turkish | acımasızlık (cold blood, cruelty, harshness, implacability, inexorability, pitilessness, ruthlessness, truculence), vahşet (savageness, savagery), pot (bloomer, blunder, Boner, break, clanger, contretemps, crease, faux pas, gaff, jackpot, kitty, pool, pot, stake), gaf (bloomer, blunder, Boner, break, bull, clanger, contretemps, faux pas, flub, gaff, gaffe, goof, howler, slip, slip of the tongue, slip up), gaddarlık (barbarity, brutality, cruelty, ferocity, fiendishness, grimness, inhumanity, perfidy, savageness, truculence), canavarlık (bestiality, monstrosity). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | нетактовність (clumsiness, impolicy), звірство (beastliness), жорстокість (asperity, barbarity, brutality, cruelty, ferociousness, ferocity, harshness, savagery, severity), промах (blunder, boss, muff). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | tính hung bạo (atrociousness, devilism), sự t n bạo h nh động hung ác (atrociousness), sự t n ác (atrociousness, blackness, cruelty). (various references) | |
Welsh | erchyllter. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Misspellings | |
"Atrocity" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: artocity, astrocytic, atracity, atrocitiy, atrosity. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "atrocity" (pronounced utrÄ"sutē) |
| 7 | -t r Ä" s u t ē | monstrosity. |
| 6 | -r Ä" s u t ē | reciprocity. |
| 5 | -Ä" s u t ē | animosity, curiosity, ferocity, generosity, pomposity, religiosity, velocity, virtuosity, viscosity. |
| 4 | -s u t ē | adversity, analyticity, audacity, authenticity, biodiversity, capacity, complexity, complicity, density, laxity, diversity, domesticity, duplicity, eccentricity, elasticity, electricity, ethnicity, falsity, Felicity, incapacity, intensity, mendacity, multiplicity, necessity, obesity, opacity, overcapacity, paucity, perplexity, perversity, propensity, publicity, scarcity, simplicity, specificity, tenacity, toxicity, university, varsity, veracity, voracity. |
| 3 | -u t ē | absurdity, acceptability, accessibility, ability, abnormality, accountability, acidity, activity, actuality, acuity, adaptability, admissibility, advisability, affinity, affordability, aggressivity, agility, alacrity, alkalinity, ambiguity, amenity, amiability, amity, annuity, anonymity, antiquity, anxiety, applicability, austerity, authority, availability, banality, barbarity, believability, bestiality, bisexuality, brevity, brutality, calamity, capability, captivity, causality, cavity, celebrity, centrality, charity, chastity, civility, clarity, collegiality, commodity, commonality, community, comparability, compatibility, comprehensibility, conditionality, conductivity, confidentiality, conformity, congeniality, congruity, connectivity, constitutionality, continuity, convertibility, creativity, credibility, credulity, criminality, criticality, crotchety, culpability, cyclicality, debility, deductibility, deformity, deity, deniability, dependability, depravity, deputy, desirability, dexterity, dignity, dimensionality, disability, discontinuity, irresponsibility, irritability, laity, legality, disparity, dissimilarity, disunity, divinity, docility, duality, ductility, durability, electability, eligibility, enforceability, enmity, enormity, entity, equality, equanimity, equity, eternity, eventuality, exclusivity, expressivity, extraterritoriality, extremity, facility, fallibility, familiarity, fatality, feasibility, femininity, fertility, festivity, fidelity, finality, flammability, flexibility, fluidity, formality, fragility, fraternity, frivolity, frugality, functionality, futility, generality, geniality, gentility, gratuity, gravity, gullibility, heredity, heterogeneity, heterosexuality, hilarity, homogeneity, homosexuality, hospitality, hostility, humanity, humidity, humility, hyperactivity, hypersensitivity, identity, illegality, illiquidity, immaturity, immobility, immorality, immortality, immunity, impartiality, impersonality, impossibility, impropriety, impunity, impurity, inability, inaccessibility, inactivity, incivility, incompatibility, incongruity, incredulity, indemnity, indestructibility, indignity, individuality, inequality, inequity, inevitability, infallibility, inferiority, infertility, infidelity, infinity, infirmity, inflexibility, informality, ingenuity, inhumanity, insanity, insecurity, insensitivity, instability, instrumentality, insularity, integrity, invincibility, invisibility, invulnerability, irrationality, irregularity, legibility, lethality, levity, liability, liberality, liquidity, lividity, locality, longevity, majority, malleability, maneuverability, marketability, masculinity, materiality, maternity, maturity, mediocrity, mentality, minority, miscibility, mobility, modality, modernity, morality, morbidity, mortality, motility, municipality, musicality, mutuality, nationality, nativity, negativity, neutrality, nobility, Nonconformity, nonentity, nonutility, normality, notoriety, nudity, objectivity, obscenity, obscurity, oddity, opportunity, originality, oversensitivity, palatability, parity, partiality, particularity, passivity, paternity, peculiarity, permeability, perpetuity, personality, piety, plausibility, plurality, polarity, polity, popularity, portability, possibility, posterity, practicality, predictability, principality, priority, probability, probity, proclivity, productivity, profanity, profitability, progressivity, promiscuity, proportionality, propriety, prosperity, proximity, punctuality, purity, quality, quantity, radioactivity, rapidity, rarity, rationality, reactivity, readability, reality, receptivity, reflexivity, regularity, relativity, reliability, respectability, responsibility, retroactivity, rickety, rigidity, salinity, sanctity, sanity, seasonality, security, selectivity, senility, seniority, sensibility, sensitivity, sensuality, sentimentality, serendipity, serenity, severity, sexuality, similarity, sincerity, sobriety, society, solemnity, solidarity, solidity, sorority, speciality, spirituality, spontaneity, stability, sterility, stupidity, subjectivity, suitability, superconductivity, superfluidity, superiority, supermajority, surety, survivability, susceptibility, sustainability, technicality, temerity, theatricality, timidity, tonality, totality, tranquility, transferability, Trinity, triviality, turbidity, ubiquity, unanimity, unavailability, unfamiliarity, uniformity, unity, universality, unpopularity, unpredictability, unreality, unreliability, uppity, utility, validity, vanity, variability, variety, velvety, venality, Verity, versatility, viability, vicinity, virginity, virility, visibility, vitality, volatility, vulgarity, vulnerability. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: citatory. | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-i-o-r-t-t-y" | |
-1 letter: citator, ricotta. | |
-2 letters: aortic, cottar, tricot, yttria, yttric. | |
-3 letters: actor, attic, catty, coati, coria, cotta, ottar, ratio, ratty, tacit, taroc, tarot, tarty, toric, tract, trait, triac. | |
-4 letters: airt, airy, arco, arty, cart, ciao, city, coat, coir, cory, iota, orca, otic, racy, rato, riot, rota, roti, ryot, taco, tact, taro, tart, tiro, toit, tora, torc. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-i-o-r-t-t-y" | |
+2 letters: astrocytic, cryostatic, excitatory. | |
+3 letters: actinometry, aromaticity, artiodactyl, contrariety, hydrostatic, incantatory, masticatory. | |
+4 letters: anticipatory, articulatory, artiodactyls, chromaticity, facilitatory, hydrostatics, overactivity, prototypical, satisfactory, tinctorially. | |
+5 letters: anfractuosity, bacteriolytic, certificatory, chromatolytic, collaterality, confraternity, connaturality, contractility, contradictory, contrastively, dictatorially, gesticulatory, justificatory, microtonality, noncreativity, obstetrically, participatory, patriotically, phreatophytic, radioactivity, retroactively, retroactivity, sacrosanctity, stereotypical, theoretically, touristically. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Fiction 7. Quotations: Spoken 8. Quotations: Speeches | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
