heinous

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

heinous (ˈheɪnəs, ˈhiː-)

—*adj*
	evil; atrocious

[C14: from Old French haineus, from haine hatred, from hair to hate, of Germanic origin; see hate]

'heinously

—*adv*

'heinousness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

heinous

late 14c., from O.Fr. haineus (Fr. haineux), from haine "hatred," from hair "to hate," from Frankish *hatjan (cf. O.S. haton, O.E. hatian "to hate").

Slang Dictionary

heinous definition

n.
bad; bad-looking; horrible, as in heinous crime. (A standard English word, used in a slangy context.) : Where on earth did you get hat heinous outfit?

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences

They must be brought to justice for this barbaric and heinous act.

But if their misdeeds were deemed too heinous, amnesty could be denied.

Well done to all those involved in crippling such a heinous network.

Yet for many this heinous crime lurks in the shadows.

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gross infamous nefarious perpetrator

Matching Quote

"O, heinous, strong, and bold conspiracy!"

-Shakespeare