Word
heinous
US/ˈheɪnəs/
UK/hˈeɪnəs/
Definition
adj. describing an action or crime that is very wicked, shocking, and cruel.
adj. grossly wicked or reprehensible; used to characterize crimes or acts that provoke extreme moral outrage.
Examples
“The judge described the murder as a heinous crime.”
“The international community condemned the heinous acts of violence committed against innocent civilians during the conflict.”
“Historians continue to debate how ordinary citizens could remain complicit while such heinous policies were being enacted by the state.”
Examples
simple
“The judge described the murder as a heinous crime.”
contextual
“The international community condemned the heinous acts of violence committed against innocent civilians during the conflict.”
complex
“Historians continue to debate how ordinary citizens could remain complicit while such heinous policies were being enacted by the state.”
Usage
Commonly collocates with nouns like 'crime', 'act', 'offence', or 'sin'.
Teaching tip
While this word is formal, it is frequently heard in news reports and true-crime documentaries to emphasize that a crime is not just bad, but truly shocking.
Real-World Examples
“A man found guilty of multiple heinous crimes against a Hamilton sex worker was recently tagged as a dangerous offender.” “Federico Basile, the mayor of Messina, said he was "deeply outraged" by the "heinous criminal act".” Etymology
From Middle English hainous, from Old French haïneus (compare French haineux) from haïr (“to hate”), hadir (“to hate”) (compare Old French enhadir (“to become filled with hate”)), from Frankish *hattjan (“to hate”) The fluctuation between pronunciations with /eɪ/ and /iː/ is old; the former reflects adoption of an unmonophthongised pronunciation of Old French -ai-, while the latter reflects a monophthongised form.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/heinous