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heinous

American  
[hey-nuhs] / ˈheɪ nəs /

adjective

  1. hateful; odious; abominable; totally reprehensible.

    a heinous offense.
    Synonyms:
    nefarious, villainous, atrocious, flagitious, flagrant, infamous, wicked
    Antonyms:
    admirable
heinous British  
/ ˈhiː-, ˈheɪnəs /

adjective

  1. evil; atrocious

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • heinously adverb
  • heinousness noun
  • nonheinous adjective
  • nonheinously adverb
  • nonheinousness noun

Etymology

Origin of heinous

1325–75; Middle English heynous < Middle French haineus, equivalent to haine hatred (derivative of haïr to hate < Germanic ) + -eus -ous

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.