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
Top law enforcement officials in Western Europe said Rio’s death is part of a growing and terrifying trend of kids being recruited and groomed online by criminal gangs to commit heinous acts.
—
ABC News,
12 June 2026
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
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
ABC News,
12 June 2026
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
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
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Chicago city officials have never forgotten the lessons of the historic and horrific heat wave of July 1995, which killed 739 people in the Chicago area.
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Many of these countries are well known for horrific human rights abuses, lack of justice and abysmal detention conditions.
Adjective
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Chris Brown was found liable by a Los Angeles jury on Tuesday for $13 million in the gruesome case of a dog that mauled and disfigured his housekeeper at his home in 2020.
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But as the days dragged on, headlines about power outages and water shortages took a back seat to a far more gruesome and horrific reality.
Adjective
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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.
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The concept of this many women vying for West is somewhat sickening to me.
Adjective
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Cape Verde began this run by making a statement, producing a shocking 0-0 draw against soccer powerhouse Spain on June 15 in its first-ever World Cup match.
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The Packers then blew a 21-3 halftime lead in the Wild Card round against Chicago, gave up 25 fourth quarter points and eventually suffered a shocking 31-27 loss to the arch-rival Bears.
Adjective
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Noah Kahan is speaking out about a disgusting habit picked up by some music fans.
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French broadcaster French Pierron was under fire for calling childbirth 'a disgusting moment.
Adjective
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Thank you to everyone who read or contributed to this column over the years, who reached out to me with story ideas or tips, or complimented my terrible artwork.
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Visitors will see his Rough Riders uniform; the 1884 diary grieving his terrible loss; and the eyeglasses case, speech and shirt from the 1912 assassination attempt against him.
Adjective
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The Red Sox offense has been horrible this season, but Contreras has been everything the club could have hoped for.
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Your cab driver is taking you on a horrible route.
Adjective
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Lasko’s teammate, Devin Taylor, was able to get up and field the rolling ball that split the two defenders, but Lasko stayed on the ground in what was a pretty ugly crash.
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His ability to perform a cesarean section — something Doc couldn't dream of — forces the town to reckon with an ugly part of their collective conscience.
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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