awful vs atrocious

awful and atrocious both are adjectives.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
awful	No	Yes	No	Yes
atrocious	No	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, awful and atrocious are synonyms defined as:

Other synonyms of awful include abominable, dreadful, painful, terrible, unspeakable.

awful (adjective)	atrocious (adjective)
offensive or even (of persons) malicious	provoking horror
causing fear or dread or terror	exceptionally bad or displeasing
exceptionally bad or displeasing	shockingly brutal or cruel
extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact
inspiring awe or admiration or wonder
inspired by a feeling of fearful wonderment or reverence

awful (adverb)	atrocious (adverb)
used as intensifiers