heinous
/ˈheɪnəs
/ /ˈhiːnəs /adjective
(Of a person or wrongful act, especially a crime) utterly odious or wicked: a battery of heinous crimes...
- But his mind's eye isn't fraught with mournful replays of a life cut short by a heinous crime.
- Hence minorities were also targeted for committing various heinous crimes.
- The candidate has to be involved in two separate cases of heinous crimes to attract disqualification.
Synonyms
odious, wicked, evil, atrocious, monstrous, disgraceful, abominable, detestable, contemptible, reprehensible, despicable, horrible, horrific, horrifying, terrible, awful, abhorrent, loathsome, outrageous, shocking, shameful, hateful, hideous, unspeakable, unpardonable, unforgivable, inexcusable, execrable, ghastly, iniquitous, villainous, nefarious, beneath contempt, beyond the pale
rare egregious, flagitious
Derivatives
heinously
- Fact of the matter is, that such heinously perverted acts bring out, in one way or another, the animal inside everybody whether it's the perpetrator, the victim, the prosecuting authorities, the political groups or the general public.
- The most common misconception about the sport of triathlon is that you have to be ‘hard-core’ to do it, and that the distances for the swim-bike-run event are heinously long.
- As it is, she is a heinously idiotic breeder who rather unfortunately chooses to be photographed next to horses she resembles.
heinousness
- To that end, seek greater awareness of your depravity and the heinousness and irrationality of sin.
- Certainly, given the heinousness of the accusation and the community outrage, it wouldn't be a surprise if they asked for it.
- Anyway, I'm having a hard time seeing the heinousness of this document again.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French haineus, from hair 'to hate', of Germanic origin.