provoking horror; "an atrocious automobile accident"; "a frightful crime of decapitation"; "an alarming, even horrifying, picture"; "war is beyond all words horrible"- Winston Churchill; "an ugly wound"
exceptionally bad or displeasing; "atrocious taste"; "abominable workmanship"; "an awful voice"; "dreadful manners"; "a painful performance"; "terrible handwriting"; "an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room"
shockingly brutal or cruel; "murder is an atrocious crime"; "a grievous offense against morality"; "a grievous crime"; "no excess was too monstrous for them to commit"
(law) the partial taking away of the effectiveness of a law; a partial repeal or abolition of a law; "any derogation of the common law is to be strictly construed"
giving offense to moral sensibilities and injurious to reputation; "scandalous behavior"; "the wicked rascally shameful conduct of the bankrupt"- Thackeray; "the most shocking book of its time"