as in horrific
very bad or evil; deserving of hate or contempt
These murders were especially heinous. the heinous brutality of the attack
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heinous
Those heinous practices were part of American culture for hundreds of years.
—
U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Jan. 2025
That heinous incident had a profound impact on the presidential race.
—Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024
There’s no exact science here in separating those guilty of some heinous crimes from others.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 26 Dec. 2024
No matter how heinous the actions of the protesters, they have been framed as coming from idealistic students expressing genuine humanitarian concern for the people of Gaza, and as mere criticism of Israel.
—The Editors, National Review, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heinous 
U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Jan. 2025
That heinous incident had a profound impact on the presidential race.
—Gord Magill, Newsweek, 22 Dec. 2024
There’s no exact science here in separating those guilty of some heinous crimes from others.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 26 Dec. 2024
No matter how heinous the actions of the protesters, they have been framed as coming from idealistic students expressing genuine humanitarian concern for the people of Gaza, and as mere criticism of Israel.
—The Editors, National Review, 24 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for heinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heinous
Adjective
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Beloved Hollywood couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco have teamed up on the big screen a handful of times already but their new collaboration tests their coupledom in new and horrific ways.—
Chris Gardner,
The Hollywood Reporter,
26 Jan. 2025
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Fires shine spotlight on power lines Power lines are again drawing the spotlight as a potential cause of the horrific blazes.—
Bart Jansen,
USA TODAY,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Shanks brilliantly paces the story out with several pieces of foreshadowing, including a rat king as symbolism for toxic codependency, mirroring a gruesome story Tim tells Millie about his father’s death and his mother’s mental health.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
27 Jan. 2025
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Unlike the gruesome, bloodthirsty creatures of classic films and literature, Cullen and his family abstain from drinking the blood of humans.—
Edward Segarra,
USA TODAY,
27 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Respiratory viruses are continuing to spread across the United States, sickening millions of Americans.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
20 Jan. 2025
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Escaping the sickening air pollution triggered by the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles has become a game of which algorithm to trust.—
Paresh Dave,
WIRED,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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But for one couple, their big day was nearly derailed by a shocking incident involving an uninvited guest.—
Kristen Waggoner,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
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With Williamson’s incredible start to his career and the shocking turns it’s taken since, The Athletic’s Will Guillory and Christian Clark discussed their times covering Williamson as members of the New Orleans media.—
William Guillory,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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My TikTok really blew up somewhere between my videos taste-testing a really disgusting medication and my series about dating.—
Brooke Eby,
People.com,
23 Jan. 2025
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Billions Of Jellyfish Wash Up On Beach By Jess Thomson Science Reporter 1 A plague of bizarre and disgusting balls that have washed up along popular beaches in Australia have been found to contain fecal bacteria.—
Raul A. Reyes,
Newsweek,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Gerulaitis’s gallows humour deflects from the fact that his terrible records against Connors and Borg took a big toll on his confidence.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
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While this is terrible for the environment, customer satisfaction, and retailers’ bottom lines, the truth is the industry has created a monster and easy and free returns have become the basic consumer expectation.—
Steve Dennis,
Forbes,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Traffic was horrible and the private crews can’t turn on a siren, ignore traffic laws, and drive on the wrong side of the road like public firefighters.—
Joseph Bien-Kahn,
Rolling Stone,
24 Jan. 2025
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Recommended Trump moves from ‘American carnage’ to ‘a horrible betrayal’ in second inaugural Juries also convicted some on charges of seditious conspiracy, which refers to activities that undermine a state without directly attacking it.—
Patrik Jonsson,
The Christian Science Monitor,
24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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An ugly opt in: If there is no trade by Feb. 6, Butler then regains a degree of leverage with the right to invoke his $52.4 million player option next season.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Jan. 2025
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This underscores an ugly truth as to why California’s housing is grossly and unnecessarily expensive, and in short supply.—
Steve Forbes,
Forbes,
23 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near heinous
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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