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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Sunday night’s premiere at the Eccles Center was met with screams, laughs and squirms of discomfort during the film’s more sickening moments.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2025
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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
Adjective
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SpaceX plans to launch a second mission this evening, which wouldn't be shocking — the company has sent two rockets up just hours apart before.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
4 Feb. 2025
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The trade, though, was shocking even with Lakers star Anthony Davis being involved in the package because of Luka’s young age, coupled with his accomplishments, including leading a Mavericks team to the NBA Finals last season.—
Scott Thompson,
Fox News,
3 Feb. 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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But to add to what is at stake, former Chelsea head coach Graham Potter, who struggled to win the crowd over during a terrible seven months in charge in 2022-23, is returning as the opposition’s manager for the first time since he was sacked.—
Simon Johnson,
The Athletic,
3 Feb. 2025
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And both situations can, of course, be traced directly to the same source: years of terrible leadership by the commissioners and university presidents that end up hurting the athletes — and passing the cost of doing business onto the fans.—
Jon Wilner,
The Mercury News,
3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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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
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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
Thesaurus Entries Near heinous
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
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