iniquitous
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of iniquitous
First recorded in 1720–30; iniquit(y) + -ous
Explanation
Something that is iniquitous is extremely immoral or wicked, such as an iniquitous political regime that assassinates its enemies. Use the adjective iniquitous to describe something that is truly bad, morally wrong, extremely wicked, or completely unfair. It’s a strong word — don't use it lightly. If you go see a movie that’s boring and too long, for example, it’s just a bad movie. But a movie that encourages people to take violent action against a minority group? That's iniquitous because the movie's message is grossly immoral.
Vocabulary lists containing iniquitous
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Pride and Prejudice
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And Then There Were None
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Iniquitous, treacherous; it is all that, but war made it a stern necessity that we should listen to your proposals.
From The Young Castellan A Tale of the English Civil War by Fenn, George Manville
And then he told me, to my exceeding Amazement and Delight, of what an Iniquitous Transaction I had very nearly been made the victim.
From The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous, Vol. 2 Who was a sailor, a soldier, a merchant, a spy, a slave among the moors... by Sala, George Augustus
Iniquitous burdens and rates we'll relax: For each "h" that's pronounced we will clap on a tax!
From Mr Punch's Model Music Hall Songs and Dramas Collected, Improved and Re-arranged from Punch by Anstey, F.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
