heinous

adjective

hei·nous ˈhā-nəs

Synonyms of heinous next

: hatefully or shockingly evil : abominable

heinously adverb

heinousness noun

Did you know?

Humans have contrasted love with hate and good with evil for eons, putting love and good on one side and hate and evil on the other. The etymology of heinous reflects the association of hate with that which is evil or horrible. During the 14th century, English borrowed heinous from the Anglo-French haine (meaning "hate"), a noun derived from hair ("to hate"), a verb of Germanic origin that is related, like the English word hate, to the Old High German haz ("hate"). Over time English speakers came to use the word to reflect the sense of horror evoked by intense hatred.

Examples of heinous in a Sentence

While admittedly the crimes rappers commit have often been more heinous than those committed by other entertainers, rappers seem to face more opprobrium. Though hip hop has become mainstream, much of mass media still has antiquated ideas of rap music and rappers. —

Vibe, May 2001

The verdict … also defined rape for the first time as a crime against humanity, one of the most heinous crimes. The tribunal has previously tried cases involving rape, but defined the rape as torture. —

Marlise Simons, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2001

It's hard enough to figure out what a defendant was thinking when he committed the heinous and bizarre act that has made him a candidate for the insanity defense. And state of mind is what the insanity defense is all about. —

Laura Mansnerus, New York Times Book Review, 26 Oct. 1997

These murders were especially heinous. people accused of committing heinous crimes

Recent Examples on the Web But this is a tragedy and deserves to be called out as heinous. —

Nbc Universal, NBC News, 27 Aug. 2023 Iran’s regime retaliated by attacking its own people with heinous acts. —

Lily Moayeri, Spin, 8 Sep. 2023 The television series is a true crime documentary show that takes a look at forensic evidence from heinous murders and unsolved crimes. —

oregonlive, 6 Sep. 2023 The film works well as a pure sports movie, even without the additional pressure of the heinous situation in which Leila and Maryam find themselves. —

Catherine Bray, Variety, 3 Sep. 2023 The authorities have rightly called this heinous act racially motivated, a term that should jolt us into action. —

Dennis Romero, NBC News, 27 Aug. 2023 Officials have called the attacks heinous, and Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar traveled to Jaranwala to meet with victims and promise swift justice for the perpetrators. —

Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 23 Aug. 2023 The crimes committed by this individual are heinous, despicable, and a fundamental betrayal of our mission and our patients’ trust. —

Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 8 Aug. 2023 The outrage is understandable; Assad has done heinous things to remain in power. —

Sam Heller, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heinous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French hainus, heinous, from haine hate, from hair to hate, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German haz hate — more at hate

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of heinous was in the 14th century

See more words from the same century