atrociousness en · NOUN
Pronunciation
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Etymology
Etymology tree English atrocious Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English atrociousness From atrocious + -ness.
Meanings
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(uncountable) The state or quality of being atrocious.
[…] as the day dawned, the atrociousness of his conduct became apparent.
1958, T. H. White, The Once and Future King, New York: Putnam, Book 2, Chapter 12, p. 309:The atrociousness of a crime, depends greatly upon the nature, character, and condition of the victim. […] To steal bread from a full man, is theft; to steal it from a starving man, is both theft and murder.
1830, Theodore Dwight Weld, The Bible against Slavery, New York, page 12:1689, Francis Grant, Lord Cullen, The Loyalists Reasons for His Giving Obedience, and Swearing Allegiance, to the Present Government, Edinburgh: J. Reid, pp. 34-35, If there be joyned to [injustice] an other vice […] , if it be frequent and habitual, in a Person of perfect Age, all these Aggravations augment its Atrociousness.