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heinous

 - 5 dictionary results

hei⋅nous

[hey-nuhs]
–adjective
hateful; odious; abominable; totally reprehensible: a heinous offense.

Origin:
1325–75; ME heynous < MF haineus, equiv. to haine hatred (deriv. of haïr to hate < Gmc) + -eus -ous


hei⋅nous⋅ly, adverb
hei⋅nous⋅ness, noun


wicked, infamous, flagrant, flagitious, atrocious, villainous, nefarious.


admirable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To heinous
hei·nous   (hā'nəs)   
adj.  Grossly wicked or reprehensible; abominable: a heinous crime.

[Middle English, from Old French haineus, from haine, hatred, from hair, to hate, from Frankish *hatjan.]
hei'nous·ly adv., hei'nous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
heinous

  1. 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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Word Origin & History

heinous 
c.1374, from O.Fr. haineus (Fr. haineux), from haine "hatred," from hair "to hate," from Frank. *hatjan (cf. O.S. haton, O.E. hatian "to hate").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: hei·nous
Pronunciation: 'hA-n&s
Function: adjective
: enormously and shockingly evil heinous crime> —hei·nous·ly adverbhei·nous·ness noun
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