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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of heinous
And that makes this snub feel particularly heinous.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2025
The release of Palestinian prisoners — some convicted of heinous terrorist acts — has stirred profound emotions and debate across Israel.
—Efrat Lachter, Fox News, 26 Jan. 2025
Joe Galvan: … were they — given the heinous act that occurred in New Haven the day before, were they potentially kidnapped by their own son?
—Anne-Marie Green, CBS News, 25 Jan. 2025
Following the heinous crime, there is an outpouring of malice for the victim, and of admiration for the perpetrator.
—Onkar Ghate, Orange County Register, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heinous
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2025
The release of Palestinian prisoners — some convicted of heinous terrorist acts — has stirred profound emotions and debate across Israel.
—Efrat Lachter, Fox News, 26 Jan. 2025
Joe Galvan: … were they — given the heinous act that occurred in New Haven the day before, were they potentially kidnapped by their own son?
—Anne-Marie Green, CBS News, 25 Jan. 2025
Following the heinous crime, there is an outpouring of malice for the victim, and of admiration for the perpetrator.
—Onkar Ghate, Orange County Register, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heinous
Adjective
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Based on the memoir by Monique Smith, who endured a horrific childhood only to discover that her family wasn’t actually hers.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
5 Mar. 2025
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The horrific apparent overdose came a day after a drug-dealing operator of a Bronx day care was sentenced to 45 years in prison for the death of a toddler exposed to fentanyl and the overdoses of three other children who survived.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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On September 2, 1885, in one of the most gruesome episodes of racial terror in American history, a group of white miners killed at least twenty-eight Chinese residents in Rock Springs and burned down the town’s Chinese quarter.—
Michael Luo,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
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The Fallen Sun stands out not just as a cop procedural, but also as a thriller that never shys away from the gruesome nature of the killer’s crime spree.—
Sezin Koehler,
EW.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Rosemary Farm in Santa Maria, California, has struggled to get by as bird flu ravages poultry populations across the U.S., sickening and killing birds and causing egg prices to spike.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2025
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Plastic straws were also noted sticking out of sea turtle nostrils, and sickening or killing seabirds, fish, manatees, dolphins and other marine mammals.—
Susanne Rust,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The newest Trump administration and the shocking vote that happened this week at the UN, the U.S. siding with North Korea in that vote.—
ABC NEWS,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2025
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In the wake of such shocking, there is inevitable pain.—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Selena Gomez has called out 'disgusting' weight shame As a former child star who grew up in the public eye, Gomez has long been subjected to conversations surrounding her weight.—
Jay Stahl,
USA TODAY,
27 Feb. 2025
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The desire to avoid portraying her character’s actions as simply disgusting led de Van to play the lead role herself, in spite of the challenges that created for her as a first-time feature director.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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This is, on paper, a terrible idea for all involved.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
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Until its proves otherwise, Miami sits mediocre at ninth-best in the 16-team AFC -- not terrible, surely not the dregs ... but not a contender.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Some compare Sanders to Geno Smith — not flattering, but not horrible.—
Troy Renck,
Orlando Sentinel,
2 Mar. 2025
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Everybody's going to be thrown, according to , into all these horrible situations.—
Hugh Cameron,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Or the constitutional dystopia in which we are now caught, beside which even the ugliest onscreen villainy pales into insignificance?—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2025
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The advanced metrics paint an ugly picture for the Suns as well over that span: 114.0 OffRtg (11th), 117.3 DefRtg (27th), -3.2 NetRtg (21st).—
Evan Sidery,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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