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.
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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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The 29-year-old began her comeback Saturday at the American Classic in Champlin, Minnesota, just days after announcing her shocking return to the sport.
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Cape Verde earned three draws in the group stage – the shocking Spain result, running with Uruguay in the second match and ending up in a scoreless draw with Saudi Arabia in Houston on Friday.
Adjective
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French broadcaster French Pierron was under fire for calling childbirth 'a disgusting moment.
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How to make the moment scary but watchable, disgusting but entrancing?
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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With one notable exception, everyone over there has nothing but ugly things to say about their main villa counterparts.
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Women superheroes have always activated an ugly segment of the internet.
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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