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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Recent Examples of heinous
After a boozy evening at Alma’s, one of her favorite students (Ayo Edibiri as Maggie) accuses one of Alma’s favorite co-workers (Andrew Garfield as Hank) of a heinous crime.
—
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2025
Aside from the nine inmates, many of whom have been charged with heinous violent crimes, several relatives and jail staffers have been arrested on suspicion of aiding the escapees.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
New York’s fade is particularly heinous.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Judges are human and, like the rest of us, listen to heinous accusations and do their best to leave emotions outside the court and oversee a trial with professionalism.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heinous
Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2025
Aside from the nine inmates, many of whom have been charged with heinous violent crimes, several relatives and jail staffers have been arrested on suspicion of aiding the escapees.
—Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
New York’s fade is particularly heinous.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Judges are human and, like the rest of us, listen to heinous accusations and do their best to leave emotions outside the court and oversee a trial with professionalism.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heinous
Adjective
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As this horrific scene is being investigated, prayers on behalf of our entire International Union are with those killed, injured, and affected, including their families, co-workers, and loved ones.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
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The Washington Commanders took the brunt of criticism on Sunday after quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a horrific arm injury in the team’s 38-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Von had been Trump-friendly before the gruesome and heartbreaking videos of the ICE raids targeting working immigrants started going viral on social media.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
7 Nov. 2025
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Daniels suffered his gruesome non-throwing-arm injury during the fourth quarter of Week 9's blowout loss to the Seahawks.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Up north, hundreds of sea lions have been found on beaches in recent months suffering from a bacterial condition that is sickening and killing younger sea lions by attacking their kidneys, said John Warner, CEO of the Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles in San Pedro.—
Erika I. Ritchie,
Oc Register,
29 Oct. 2025
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Winter is coming, and no amount of Narcan can solve this sickening public health crisis.—
Joe Dwinell,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Likewise, using the military to patrol the border is not a shocking mission.—
Peter D. Feaver,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Nov. 2025
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The numbers game was too great before Rhea Ripley made her shocking return from an injury.—
Fernando Quiles Jr,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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By modern standards, kind of disgusting.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
7 Nov. 2025
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But stepping into that closet was really disgusting.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The groundbreaking research penetrated the last moments of the young nobleman, who suffered a terrible 26 blows.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
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History is full of cases where great bands make terrible records, yet history stands speechless at what the Clash accomplished here.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The New York native collected Golden Globe and Spirit awards for her performance as the title character, an aging Czechoslovakian actress forced to take a stand-in job in a horrible off-Broadway play, in Anna.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Nov. 2025
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Gano opening up about this comes on a horrible day for the football world after Dallas Cowboys second-year linebacker Marshawn Kneeland died by suicide at the age of 24.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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This was one of the ugliest matches in recent memory; a game that, in isolation, only those fond of trench warfare could love.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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Things got a little ugly for Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell this week.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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