heinous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- heinously adverb
- heinousness noun
- nonheinous adjective
- nonheinously adverb
- nonheinousness noun
Etymology
Origin of heinous
1325–75; Middle English heynous < Middle French haineus, equivalent to haine hatred (derivative of haïr to hate < Germanic ) + -eus -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The catty media site Gawker noted that corners of the internet like 4Chan could be expected to respond with heinous pranks, without realizing how vile the rhetoric of regular people was about to get.
From Salon
"I dare hope he is not the perpetrator of this heinous crime, because otherwise it would once again be a descent into hell, both for me and for his children."
From BBC
The United Nations on Tuesday called the recent attacks "heinous and cowardly".
From Barron's
Meantime, heinous accusations are circulating against prominent people, without any evidence they’re true.
He accused Harvard of "serious and heinous illegalities", but did not clarify how he believed it had broken the law.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
