1660s, "heinous, extremely criminal, enormously cruel," from stem of Latin atrox "fierce, savage, cruel" (see atrocity) + -ous. Weakened colloquial sense "very bad" is late 19c. Related: Atrociously; atrociousness.
murder is an atrocious crime
atrocious taste
an atrocious automobile accident
atresia
Atreus
atria
atrial
atrium
atrocious
atrocity
atrophic
atrophy
atropine
Atropos
)window.location='https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=byronic106@yahoo.com&lc=US&item_name=Donation+to +Help+Keep+Etymonline+Free+and+Open&no_note=0&cn=&curency_code=USD&bn=PP-DonationsBF:btn_donateCC_LG.gif:NonHosted'){kind=link}