atrocities
Acts of horror
Atrocities are acts of extreme cruelty or violence, typically committed during war or by those in power: atrocities committed against civilians, documenting the regime's atrocities.
The word implies actions so brutal they shock the conscience—mass killings, torture, systematic abuse.
An atrocity can also be something shockingly bad or tasteless, though this lighter use risks trivializing the word's core meaning.
Large-scale unlawful killing
- genocideSystematic annihilation of a people
- slaughterKilling for meat
- carnageWidespread violent death
- bloodshedKilling and wounding
butchery · murder · torture · rape · mutilation · execution · extermination · killing
Judicial decision-making body
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- justiceFair treatment under law
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- reparationsCompensation for historical wrongs
memorial · testimony · survivors · witnesses · documentation · investigation · Nuremberg · Hague
Combat engagement area
- casualtiesThose killed or wounded
- combatArmed hostile engagement
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- siegeEncirclement forcing surrender
prisoners · civilians · refugees · concentration camps · internment · deportation · forced labor · scorched earth
Odiously, shockingly evil
- monstrousFrighteningly huge or wicked
- barbaricSavagely cruel, uncivilized
- inhumanDevoid of mercy
- unspeakableBeyond verbal expression
horrific · abominable · unconscionable · reprehensible · unforgivable · vile · savage · brutal
German totalitarian party members
- HitlerNazi Germany's totalitarian leader
- StalinSoviet autocrat, mid-century
- regimeSystem of governance
- militiaNon-professional armed force
Pol Pot · soldiers · guards · commanders · collaborators · war criminals · dictators · death squads
massacre
Large-scale unlawful killing
bloodshed · butchery · murder · torture · rape · mutilation · execution · extermination · killing · lynching
tribunal
Judicial decision-making body
- prosecutionPursuing legal charges
- justiceFair treatment under law
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
reparations · memorial · testimony · survivors · witnesses · documentation · investigation · Nuremberg · Hague · truth commission
battlefield
Combat engagement area
- casualtiesThose killed or wounded
- combatArmed hostile engagement
- occupationOne's regular paid work
siege · prisoners · civilians · refugees · concentration camps · internment · deportation · forced labor · scorched earth · carpet bombing
heinous
Odiously, shockingly evil
unspeakable · horrific · abominable · unconscionable · reprehensible · unforgivable · vile · savage · brutal · merciless
Nazis
German totalitarian party members
- HitlerNazi Germany's totalitarian leader
- StalinSoviet autocrat, mid-century
- regimeSystem of governance
Pol Pot · militia · soldiers · guards · commanders · collaborators · war criminals · dictators · death squads · Khmer Rouge
- oppressionoppression, tyranny, racism, repression, secret police
- conflictclash, fight, war, battle, dispute
- warcombat, warfare, battle scenes, battles, soldier
- HolocaustHolocaust, Auschwitz, concentration camps, Holocaust survivors, gas chambers
- Belgian HistoryBelgium, independence movement, King Leopold, constitutional monarchy, national congress
- Colonial KoreaJapanese occupation, Japanese rule, colonial rule, occupation period, independence movement
atrocitiesmercies
Acts of forgiveness
blessings · good works · charitable acts · noble deeds · delights
atrocitiesaccidents
Unintended harmful occurrences
misfortunes · tragedies · natural disasters · mishaps · calamities
atrocitieshumanities
Study of culture
liberations · sanctuary · humane treatment · dignities · humanitarian efforts
- war atrocitiesBrutal acts during conflict