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atroce

atrocious

adjective ah-TROS Less Common

Also means

dreadful

Usage Note

Atroce is invariable for gender — the same form is used for masculine and feminine nouns. In informal speech it often functions as a hyperbolic intensifier ('this coffee is atrocious'), similar to 'terrible' in colloquial English, softening its literal meaning of extreme cruelty.

Examples

"La chaleur était atroce pendant l'été."

Natural Translation

The heat was atrocious during the summer.

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