heinous

adjective

Definition of heinousnext
as in horrific
very bad or evil; deserving of hate or contempt These murders were especially heinous. the heinous brutality of the attack

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heinous Victims of these heinous crimes deserve the state’s complete protection, care, and legal safeguards. — Yoni Anijar, Sun Sentinel, 20 July 2026 The other Israelites are appalled by this heinous action and go to war against the Benjaminites, who are nearly destroyed before an eventual reconciliation (Judges 20–21). — Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026 This outcome reflects our commitment to protecting our community and ensuring that those who commit such heinous acts face severe consequences. — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 20 June 2026 When a heinous crime sets off a chain reaction of mutual care and resistance within a trans community, two trans women search for the perpetrator that leads to the highest reaches of government. — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 20 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for heinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heinous
  1. horrific
  2. gruesome
  3. sickening
  4. shocking
  5. disgusting
  6. terrible
  7. horrible
  8. ugly
Adjective
  • Her family members could be seen getting emotional as the detective described the horrific scene.
    — Alex Stone, ABC News, 21 July 2026
  • The end of this horrific tableau draws a distinct difference between Loustat and Loumand.
    — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of horrific
Adjective
  • During the five-day preliminary hearing, prosecutors displayed gruesome crime scene images of Hernandez’s remains and produced hundreds of text messages between Burke and Hernandez that provided an in-depth look at their relationship.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026
  • The previous day, multiple gruesome photos of the crime scene were exhibited on screen.
    — Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026
Definition of gruesome
Adjective
  • To defile the legacy of his family and that family name is sickening, and turns my stomach.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 16 July 2026
  • The 2022 spill was the largest ever from the Keystone pipeline, killing or sickening 2,700 animals.
    — Ella Nilsen, CNN Money, 10 July 2026
Definition of sickening
Adjective
  • This mixture of raucous comedy and unusually vivid war scenes was considered quite shocking for its time.
    — Tim Page, The Washington Examiner, 25 July 2026
  • The first story was set in the 1980s while the second volume, recently wrapped, was set in the 1990s, at the dawn of the Internet age and culminated with a shocking finale that left readers’ jaws on the forest floor.
    — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2026
Definition of shocking
Adjective
  • The left's most hated author — JK Rowling — has dropped the hammer on the disgusting things that took place at the Indiana Fever-Seattle Storm game earlier this week.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 July 2026
  • Or when some man behaving like a degenerate gambler plods into Chelsea Gray’s DMs with a disgusting slur.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 27 July 2026
Definition of disgusting
Adjective
  • My scheduler needed no prompting to tell me the system was terrible.
    — Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
  • During that terrible season, 71% of California Dungeness boats stopped fishing and more than 200 jobs were lost.
    — Susanne Rust Follow, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026
Definition of terrible
Adjective
  • The Badgers have had horrible injury luck, which has led to bad QB play the past few years.
    — Antonio Morales, New York Times, 27 July 2026
  • Aemond raves about his horrible older brother who spent their youth tormenting him.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of horrible
Adjective
  • It was delivered with sneers, an ugly, small-minded few minutes in support of the sclerotic, disdainful of dynamic change.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 25 July 2026
  • And after an ugly Congress filled with multiple shutdowns, the House is taking an increasingly confrontational approach toward the Senate.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of ugly

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heinies
heinous
heinousness
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Cite this Entry

“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 2 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of heinous for Spanish Speakers

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