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
Albie is a definite contrast from Arthur Pym, one of the most heinous men Hamill’s ever played in his career.
—
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 16 June 2025
This is not just the story of that tragic moment and that heinous crime.
—Samantha Balaban, NPR, 14 June 2025
After nearly eight months of rent strikes due to heinous living conditions, residents at Independence Towers have reached a deal with the building’s new ownership, according to a local tenant union.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2025
Both statements underscored the agency’s recognition of Soliman’s obvious motive behind this heinous crime.
—Doug Friednash, Denver Post, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for heinous
Brian Truitt, USA Today, 16 June 2025
This is not just the story of that tragic moment and that heinous crime.
—Samantha Balaban, NPR, 14 June 2025
After nearly eight months of rent strikes due to heinous living conditions, residents at Independence Towers have reached a deal with the building’s new ownership, according to a local tenant union.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2025
Both statements underscored the agency’s recognition of Soliman’s obvious motive behind this heinous crime.
—Doug Friednash, Denver Post, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for heinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heinous
Adjective
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Throughout the Holocaust, the Nazis concentrated European Jews in urban ghettos, which were marked by horrific living conditions, forced labor and the threat of execution.—
Tom Dreisbach,
NPR,
30 June 2025
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And that's a tough sell to a jury that spent weeks listening to horrific testimony about Diddy and his empire.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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Accounts of government and police repression have only gotten more gruesome, with Amnesty Kenya reporting that 16 people have been shot and killed as of June 28 and local officials claiming that hundreds have been injured (while also alleging that most of those hurt were police officers).—
Mankaprr Conteh,
Rolling Stone,
30 June 2025
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Forget turning on some gruesome horror movie: reading the daily headlines is enough to make just about anyone scream.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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The portal that allows the players to go from school to school is also sickening.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
9 June 2025
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The Queens Botanical Garden’s annual Pride event will feature DJ music, after-hours access to the garden and sickening drag performances by Nani Tsunami and Janae SaisQuoi.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2025
Adjective
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The Paris heavyweight routed Atletico Madrid 4-0 in their Club World Cup opening game, suffered a shocking 1-0 upset by Brazilian club Botafogo in their second match, and then beat the Seattle Sounders 2-0 to clinch first place in the group.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
27 June 2025
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The 6-foot-7 forward will join Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis with the Mavericks, who are looking to turn around the franchise following the shocking midseason trade of Luka Dončić in February.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Republicans seem to try to outdo each other to see who can be the most hateful and disgusting.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
26 June 2025
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First came the disgusting pictures of waters so fouled that they were often compared to rotting guacamole.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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Rarely great, and consistently cringey in that NHL way we’re used to by now, but rarely terrible.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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Gi-hun is left with a terrible choice: kill the baby and survive, or sacrifice himself so that the baby can live.—
Kayti Burt,
Time,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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To be able to say that so many writers have been meaningful to you is not a horrible thing.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
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If Flagg develops into the human triple double who leads the team to the Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals in his first six years, the trade can be called not a horrible deal.—
Mac Engel,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 June 2025
Adjective
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The pair hit an ugly double-spinebuster on the Arabic announce table.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
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The wild and ugly scenes saw rioters attack law enforcement with rocks and Molotov cocktails while others burned vehicles and other property.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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