heinous

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hei⋅nous

[hey-nuh

Use heinous in a Sentence

–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

Related forms:

hei⋅nous⋅ly, adverb

hei⋅nous⋅ness, noun

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

Antonyms:
admirable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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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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Heinous

Hei"nous\, a. [OF. ha["i]nos hateful, F. haineux, fr. OF. ha["i]ne hate, F. haine, fr. ha["i]r to hate; of German origin. See Hate.] Hateful; hatefully bad; flagrant; odious; atrocious; giving great great offense; -- applied to deeds or to character.

It were most heinous and accursed sacrilege. --Hooker.

How heinous had the fact been, how deserving Contempt! --Milton.

Syn: Monstrous; flagrant; flagitious; atrocious. -- Hei"nous*ly, adv. -- Hei"nous*ness, n.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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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").

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

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