atrocitya‧troc‧i‧ty /əˈtrɒsəti $ əˈtrɑː-/ noun (plural atrocities) [countable usually plural, uncountable] 
Examples
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- The brutal destruction of an entire village was one of the worst atrocities of the Vietnam war.
- Any atrocity, at any time, was expected from them.
- It was not until half a century later in the 1990s that these atrocities came to light and created an international scandal.
- It was, said Stephen, as appalling an atrocity as you could find.
- Now senior officers fear the organisation is limbering up for a wave of further atrocities.
- That done, we piously concocted the Nuremberg code to ensure that such atrocities would never be repeated.
- You re left with a vision of atrocity perpetuating atrocity.
Longman Language Activatoran extremely bad action► atrocity
Collocations an unusually cruel and violent action, usually against someone who has done nothing wrong, that is unacceptable even during a time of war: · The brutal destruction of an entire village was one of the worst atrocities of the Vietnam war.
► outrage an extremely bad, and often cruel and unfair action that people think is shocking: · It's an outrage that men who didn't finish high school sometimes earn more than women with college educations.· The terrorist attack, in which two innocent tourists were murdered, is the third outrage of its kind this year.
cruel behaviour► cruelty cruel treatment or behaviour: · What kind of person could treat a fellow human being with such cruelty?· Her black eye and bruises were undeniable evidence of his cruelty.cruelty to: · Burnett has campaigned against cruelty to animals for more than 20 years.
► abuse deliberately cruel treatment of someone, especially someone in your family that you are supposed to care for: · Doctors believed that there was no evidence of abuse, despite the woman's claims.child abuse (=cruel treatment of children): · There has been an increase in the number of cases of child abuse.sexual abuse (=when someone forces another person to take part in sexual activities): · a victim of sexual abuse
► bullying cruel treatment of someone who is smaller, younger, or weaker - use this especially about children being cruel to other children: · The government has become involved in the effort to solve the problem of bullying in schools.
► mistreatment/ill-treatment/maltreatment cruel treatment of people or animals, especially those you have some control over: · There can be no good reason for the ill-treatment of factory-farm animals.· Jailers singled out certain prisoners for maltreatment.· There can be no excuse for the mistreatment of people seeking asylum in this country.
► persecution cruel treatment of people because of their religious or political beliefs, or because of the race they belong to: · Many Jews fled to America to escape persecution in Europe.· Katya asked the United States to protect her from persecution in her home country.persecution of: · the relentless persecution of American Communists in the 1950s
► atrocities extremely cruel and shocking actions against people, especially during a war: · Survivors from the concentration camps had witnessed unspeakable atrocities.commit atrocities: · Retreating soldiers told stories of awful atrocities committed by the enemy.
► sadism taking pleasure in cruel acts: · Sadism may stem from a desire to dominate.· Mzukwa grew quiet as he recalled the brutality and sadism of the prison guards.
► inhumanity cruelty that includes violence and a complete lack of sympathy for people's suffering: · Reformists were appalled by the immorality and inhumanity of the slave trade.· The novel focuses on the inhumanity of prisons and labour camps.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► commit an atrocity
an extremely cruel and violent action, especially during a war (=commit a terrible and violent act)· During the civil war both sides committed numerous atrocities.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE► ill· Its members have been responsible for some of the worst atrocities during the Troubles and bitterly oppose any decommissioning.· There have undoubtedly been worse atrocities in areas where no one can go.· Scores more were seriously injured as the blast scattered human remains across stalls in one of Bosnia's worst atrocities.· The inquest has opened into Northern Ireland's worst atrocity, the 1998 Omagh bombing that killed 29 people.
VERB► commit· The monster after committing this atrocity felt upset.· Clan Campbell. rightly, have stood condemned for 300 years for having committed the atrocity.· The interest is simply focused on the few individuals who commit several serious atrocities.