Humans have contrasted love with hate and good with evil for eons, putting love and good on one side and hate and evil on the other. The etymology of heinous reflects the association of hate with that which is evil or horrible. During the 14th century, English borrowed heinous from the Anglo-French haine (meaning "hate"), a noun derived from hair ("to hate"), a verb of Germanic origin that is related, like the English word hate, to the Old High German haz ("hate"). Over time English speakers came to use the word to reflect the sense of horror evoked by intense hatred.
Examples of heinous in a Sentence
While admittedly the crimes rappers commit have often been more heinous than those committed by other entertainers, rappers seem to face more opprobrium. Though hip hop has become mainstream, much of mass media still has antiquated ideas of rap music and rappers.—Vibe, May 2001The verdict … also defined rape for the first time as a crime against humanity, one of the most heinous crimes. The tribunal has previously tried cases involving rape, but defined the rape as torture.—Marlise Simons, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2001It's hard enough to figure out what a defendant was thinking when he committed the heinous and bizarre act that has made him a candidate for the insanity defense. And state of mind is what the insanity defense is all about.—Laura Mansnerus, New York Times Book Review, 26 Oct. 1997
These murders were especially heinous.
people accused of committing heinous crimes
Recent Examples on the WebWhile working at a Roman orphanage before becoming a nun circa 1971, American novitiate Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) discovers a heinous conspiracy at play: The youth have ditched the Catholic Church and powerful holy men want to birth the Antichrist as an extreme way to bring believers back.—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2024 Or that the murders were heinous and cruel and premeditated, or done for any type of financial gain.—Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for heinous
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heinous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Anglo-French hainus, heinous, from haine hate, from hair to hate, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German haz hate — more at hate
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