FLAGITIOUS

atrocious, flagitious, grievous, monstrous

(adjective) 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”

flagitious, heinous

(adjective) extremely wicked, deeply criminal; “a flagitious crime”; “heinous accusations”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

flagitious (comparative more flagitious, superlative most flagitious)

(literary) (of people) Guilty of terrible crimes; wicked, criminal.

(literary) Extremely brutal or wicked; heinous, monstrous.

Synonyms

• (extremely brutal or cruel): infamous, scandalous, nefarious, iniquitous

Source: Wiktionary

Fla*gi"tious, a. Etym: [L. flagitiosus, fr. flagitium a shameful or disgraceful act, orig., a burning desire, heat of passion, from flagitare to demand hotly, fiercely; cf. flagrare to burn, E. flagrant.]

1. Disgracefully or shamefully criminal; grossly wicked; scandalous; shameful; -- said of acts, crimes, etc. Debauched principles and flagitious practices. I. Taylor.

2. Guilty of enormous crimes; corrupt; profligate; -- said of persons. Pope.

3. Characterized by scandalous crimes or vices; as, flagitious times. Pope.

Syn.

– Atrocious; villainous; flagrant; heinous; corrupt; profligate; abandoned. See Atracious.

– Fla*gi"tious*ly, adv.

– Fla*gi"tious*ness, n. A sentence so flagitiously unjust. Macaulay.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition