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
Seeing Biden’s devastating weakness, Russia invaded Ukraine, and Hamas terrorists launched the heinous October 7th attack on Israel.
—
New York Times, 11 June 2026
The police discovered a collection of penny dreadfuls in the house, which the coroner argued had led the boys to commit the heinous act.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 June 2026
New York City summers are borderline heinous.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 7 June 2026
Companies have been offering discounts, convenience, and free services in exchange for access to your data for years, from loyalty cards and cookies to dashcams, insurance apps monitoring how people drive, and that heinous smart TV that’s always showing ads.
—Robert Hart, The Verge, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for heinous
New York Times, 11 June 2026
The police discovered a collection of penny dreadfuls in the house, which the coroner argued had led the boys to commit the heinous act.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 June 2026
New York City summers are borderline heinous.
—Tamim Alnuweiri, InStyle, 7 June 2026
Companies have been offering discounts, convenience, and free services in exchange for access to your data for years, from loyalty cards and cookies to dashcams, insurance apps monitoring how people drive, and that heinous smart TV that’s always showing ads.
—Robert Hart, The Verge, 29 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for heinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heinous
Adjective
-
What should have been a night of celebration and community reflection for Juneteenth was shattered by a horrific act of violence.—
Kelsie Cairns,
FOXNews.com,
22 June 2026
-
First of all, the suffering of the Iranian people has been horrific in the context of this unnecessary conflict.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 June 2026
Adjective
-
The historic victory, the nation’s first ever in the World Cup, was overshadowed when the midfielder injured his leg in gruesome fashion following a clumsy challenge from Qatar’s Assim Madibo.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
19 June 2026
-
Men In Blazers Canada’s first-ever World Cup victory, a 6-0 demolition derby of Qatar, was overshadowed yesterday by a gruesome leg injury suffered by midfield maestro Ismaël Koné.—
Mark Hodge,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
Toxic fumes are leaking into airplanes and sickening passengers and crew members at an alarming rate, according to a September 2025 report by The Wall Street Journal.—
Christopher Edwards,
PEOPLE,
15 June 2026
-
The concept of this many women vying for West is somewhat sickening to me.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
Deidre Hall delivered her most shocking slap yet on live TV on June 19.—
Lara Walsh,
InStyle,
20 June 2026
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Ahead of the episode, Raba spoke to the Star-Telegram about his journey playing this character and what’s next for Joaquin after the shocking reveal.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
Get a room, this is disgusting!—
Daniela Avila,
PEOPLE,
17 June 2026
-
And, to me, there’s nothing more disgusting than an airplane bathroom.—
Carita Rizzo,
Deadline,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
This is Conolly’s Folly, built in 1740 at the height of a terrible famine.—
Amelia Soth,
JSTOR Daily,
18 June 2026
-
The heroes who save us from these awful, terrible music haters do so with force.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
Iran’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad World Cup got a lot better Sunday.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
21 June 2026
-
What started as a horrible mistake ended up bringing the community together.—
Andrea Nakano,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
Adjective
-
Both state and church are also known for failing to live up to those ideals, for permitting indefensible abuses, for ugly histories.—
Joe Mathews,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
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Featuring the good, the bad and the ugly, ‘Look of the Week’ is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most talked about outfit of the last seven days.—
Fiona Sinclair Scott,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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