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heinous

heinous

82 9.0
Extremely cruel and shocking
  • adjective
  • /ˈheɪnəs/
  • Formal
: atroz
  • "Do you feel that society has a right to impose the death penalty for especially heinous crimes?"
  • a heinous crime
  • most heinous
  • a heinous deed

And I sat there and read these heinous comments about being laughed.

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Examples

  • The heinous crime shocked the entire community and left many people in disbelief.

  • Everyone looks at each other and the dead and wounded victims of this heinous act...

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Will normal people do heinous things just because an authority figure asked them to?

  • Would you commit a heinous crime?

  • Millions of people die in this heinous tragedy.

  • God can forgive the most heinous of sins.

  • Eight corpses have been discovered in what is already being called the most brutal and heinous crime in local history.

  • The biggest punishment, namely death, is reserved for the most heinous crimes.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The soldier had committed the most heinous and cowardly murders in the history of Cumberland County, North Carolina.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Melnik's client, Juan Catalan, stood accused of a particularly heinous revenge murder.

    Academic text (2004)

Synonyms

evil
vsheinous
∞ 1.2

Being very bad and morally wrong, often causing harm to others

is stronger and emphasizes shocking, extreme moral wickedness
vile
vsheinous
131 5.0

Very bad and morally wrong

is focused on shockingly evil moral wrong rather than mere unpleasantness
horrendous
vsheinous
79 7.0

Very shocking and scary, causing fear or disgust

is specifically about moral shock and intentional wrongdoing
demonic
vsheinous
70 8.1

Extremely evil and cruel, as if caused by the devil

is shockingly evil without implying supernatural inspiration
nefarious
vsheinous
  • Formal
43 8.8

Very bad and illegal, done to harm people

is broader, applying to moral evil beyond only actions
diabolical
vsheinous
42 8.2

Very evil and cruel, like a devil

is shockingly evil but not specifically described as devilish
wicked
vsheinous
40 3.1

A very bad or painful condition, for example during illness

is specifically extreme moral evil or shocking wrongdoing
monstrous
vsheinous
27 7.3

Very cruel and shocking, causing strong fear

is morally shocking evil rather than only provoking horror
hellish
vsheinous
27 6.1

Very unpleasant and painful, like being in hell

is used for severe moral evil without always implying torment
villainous
vsheinous
14 7.3

Very bad and cruel, often hurting other people

is focused more on shocking moral evil than on criminal character
unholy
vsheinous
13 6.3

Extremely cruel and evil, like something from hell

is equally shocking but not framed as religious or hellish
fiendish
vsheinous
10 7.9

Being very cruel and evil and making others suffer

is shockingly evil but not always meaning calculated cruelty
atrocious
vsheinous
7 7.6

Very cruel and shocking, causing great pain and fear

is about shocking moral wickedness rather than gruesome badness
flagitious
vsheinous
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A very wicked and criminal act that shocks people

is the general extreme moral wrongness without legal focus
diabolic
vsheinous
1 7.8

Very evil and cruel, like the devil

is equally shocking but used more for moral wickedness than devil imagery

Antonyms

∞ 1.0

Behaving in a kind and honest way

23 4.3

Being morally good and doing what is right

How Evil

atrocious
7 7.6
heinous
  • Formal
82 9.0
wicked
112 4.6
bad
167 4.9

Surface Forms

heinous positive

Morphology

heinous = hein + ous

Although '-ous' is a productive adjective suffix, the stem 'hein' is not a standalone modern English word, so learners cannot reliably derive the meaning from its parts.

Etymology

The word heinous comes from an old French word haine meaning 'hatred' and is like the English word hate. So a heinous act is one full of hate and is shockingly or very evil.