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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heinous
Joe getting exposed for his many heinous crimes and spending the rest of his days behind bars.
—
Andy Swift, TVLine, 18 May 2025
The series follows an aspiring author, cursed with writer’s block and ridden with debt, who is offered a huge amount of money to commit a heinous crime.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 16 May 2025
Terrorists should know there’s no place to hide from their heinous crimes against the innocent.
—Shane Croucher
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025
Justice is not always served when those who commit heinous crimes are locked up for life.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for heinous
Andy Swift, TVLine, 18 May 2025
The series follows an aspiring author, cursed with writer’s block and ridden with debt, who is offered a huge amount of money to commit a heinous crime.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 16 May 2025
Terrorists should know there’s no place to hide from their heinous crimes against the innocent.
—Shane Croucher
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025
Justice is not always served when those who commit heinous crimes are locked up for life.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 6 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for heinous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heinous
Adjective
-
The war has carried a horrific toll for Gazans, with many dead amid the fighting and whole neighborhoods razed to the ground.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
-
Instead of just ending on that horrific moment, the show then cuts to Abby several days earlier.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
Adjective
-
Larvae of the parasitic fly chew through flesh, transforming small nicks into big, gruesome wounds.—
Sarah Zhang,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2025
-
Then, on November 25, 1987, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office received a gruesome package in the mail.—
Christine Pelisek,
People.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
-
But the defense is hoping to cast her recollections merely as sickening details in a deranged love story between two consenting and jealous adults.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
17 May 2025
-
For years, raw sewage from Mexico has poured across the border into Southern California, fouling beaches, sickening residents and sparking diplomatic as well as environmental concerns.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 May 2025
Adjective
-
Continuing a recent pattern of face-to-furniture collisions on the talk show, the 69-year-old's head made a momentous journey plummeting toward the program's storied table at the top of Tuesday's live broadcast, after panelist Joy Behar made a shocking joke about Sean Combs.—
Joey Nolfi Published,
EW.com,
3 June 2025
-
Read on for the best and most shocking moments from the SI runway.—
Brittany Talarico,
People.com,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
But unfortunately, that also means Big Mouth, the cartoon about all the disgusting, messy parts of growing up from Nick Kroll, must also conclude as well.—
Lucy Ford,
Time,
19 May 2025
-
Victorian Ladies at Lunch In a beautiful regency-era setting, four women eat disgusting foods.—
Rosa Escandon,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2025
Adjective
-
Kids these days have attention spans crushed under the terrible weight of TikTok and Instgram.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
-
My heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, and the Great People of Boulder, Colorado!—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
2 June 2025
Adjective
-
There’s no doubt that Lewis, abandoned as a baby by his parents, has done some horrible stuff.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
26 May 2025
-
What happened to Simone as a child is horrible, and in her brain, she is therefore absolved of having anything to do with her father.—
Lauren Coates,
Variety,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
The birds' droppings end up on the ground and windows below, creating an ugly scene for staff, branch patrons and passersby walking in the River Market District.—
Joseph Flaherty,
Arkansas Online,
23 May 2025
-
Compare the first half of Season 15 to Jodie Whittaker’s last outing as the Doctor, and things get uglier.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
23 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heinous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heinous. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share