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
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
The eight-part series, led by Charlie Hunnam, tapped into the serial killer who killed at least two women and exhumed several bodies for his heinous purposes in the 1950s.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 28 May 2026
The suit was an act of vengeance, and its primary function seemed to be to make everyone involved look heinous.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for 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
The eight-part series, led by Charlie Hunnam, tapped into the serial killer who killed at least two women and exhumed several bodies for his heinous purposes in the 1950s.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 28 May 2026
The suit was an act of vengeance, and its primary function seemed to be to make everyone involved look heinous.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for heinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heinous
Adjective
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The six-month delay was vehemently opposed by most plaintiff attorneys, who say their clients have suffered horrific abuse and are in desperate need of cash.—
Rebecca Ellis,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
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The Oscar-winning Capote had the dramatic advantage of a protagonist investigating a horrific mass murder.—
Stephen Farber,
HollywoodReporter,
15 June 2026
Adjective
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Schlepping from town to town to support his gruesome secret tradition, Billy flashes forward from a terrifying memory from the car-jacking that killed his parents when was 8 years old.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
11 Dec. 2025
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The neighbor found Bethany in her crib and a gruesome crime scene close by.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
10 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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So united and powerful were these Indigenous people that some of their enemies started to get desperate, that whiff of anxiety taking on a sickening stench.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
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Andes virus, a type of hantavirus, has sparked global concern in recent weeks after causing the death of three passengers and sickening at least eight others aboard the MV Hondius, a cruise ship traveling from Argentina across the Atlantic.—
Claire Cameron,
Scientific American,
18 May 2026
Adjective
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Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid seemed to have turned a corner with an impressive 3-0 win at Athletic Club last Wednesday, but a shocking 2-0 home defeat by Celta Vigo on Sunday — characterised by familiar problems out of possession — brought them crashing back down to earth.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
10 Dec. 2025
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There is a chance that the Crimson Tide could make a shocking run to a national championship win.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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One of the guests makes a disgusting joke involving the boat and lubricant.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
26 Aug. 2025
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Danny DeVito, who plays the hilarious and disgusting Frank Reynolds on Always Sunny, used to be married to a fellow comedy legend, Rhea Perlman.—
Allison DeGrushe Published,
EW.com,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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In 2012, a powerful quake visited terrible damage on the city of Modena, Bottura’s home and host to his restaurant.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
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The letter writer’s cousin has cancer, and the chemo gives her terrible side effects.—
Eric Thomas,
Sun Sentinel,
11 June 2026
Adjective
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The companies try to slow down this process by submerging it in oil, but the resulting flavor is horrible.—
Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner,
Martha Stewart,
13 June 2026
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Any justice in the community would praise this murderer’s row of craftspeople working on the production design for the period town setting; makeup, especially Pennywise’s horrible face; sound design, for helping to keep the audio terrors churning along; and the costume work.—
William Earl,
Variety,
11 June 2026
Adjective
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Putting to one side any uglier consequences of illness or less fixable emotional wounds, the film follows suit — though there’s only a glancing sense here that death is for life, not just for Christmas.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
11 Dec. 2025
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Monday's matchup was one of the ugliest games of the year for the Eagles, committing five costly turnovers in the 22-19 loss.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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