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Atrocious vs Hideous - What's the difference?

atrocious | hideous |

As adjectives the difference between atrocious and hideous

is that atrocious is frightful, evil, cruel or monstrous while hideous is frightful; shocking; extremely ugly.

atrocious

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Frightful, evil, cruel or monstrous.
  • Offensive or heinous. (rfex)
  • Very bad; abominable or disgusting.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=The Celebrity, by arts unknown, induced Mrs. Judge Short and two other ladies to call at Mohair on an afternoon when Mr. Cooke was trying a trotter on the track. The three returned wondering and charmed with Mrs. Cooke; they were sure she had had no hand in the furnishing of that atrocious house.}}

    Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "atrocious" is often applied: crime, act, murder, condition, spelling, grammar.

    Related terms

    * atrocity

    hideous

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Frightful; shocking; extremely ugly.
    • A piteous and hideous spectacle." .
  • Distressing or offensive to the ear; horrible.
  • * 1719 ,
    • He started up, growling at first, but finding his leg broken, fell down again; and then got upon three legs, and gave the most hideous roar that ever I heard.
  • Hateful; shocking.
    • Sure, you have some hideous matter to deliver. -

    Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "hideous" is often applied: monster, creature, man, face, thing, crime, form, death, aspect, spectacle, picture, roar, sound, manner, way, disease, mistake, shape, dress, fact, act, smile.

    Synonyms

    * frightful, ghastly, grim, grisly, grotesque, horrid, dreadful, terrible

    Derived terms

    * hideosity * hideously * hideousness