heinous
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heinous
- /ˈheɪnəs/ UK, US
- /ˈhiːnəs/ UK
Rhymes with -eɪnəs
Where it comes from
From Middle English heynous, from Anglo-Norman hainous, heinous (compare French haineux) from Old French haïr, hadir (“to hate”) (compare Old French en-hadir (“to become filled with hate”)), from Frankish *hattjan (“to hate”) (compare Middle English hetien). More at hate.
The fluctuation between pronunciations with /eɪ/ and /iː/ is old; the former reflects adoption of an unmonophthongised pronunciation of Old French -ai-, while the latter reflects a monophthongised form.
adjective more heinous · most heinous · hainous
-
Totally reprehensible.
I hope they catch the person responsible for that heinous crime.
Similar: abominable, horrible, odious
- Bad, evil or villainous.
Opposite: unheinous
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: atrocious, evil, monstrous, flagitious, grievous, wicked, loathsome, detestable, repugnant, deplorable, odious, abominable, awful, repulsive, hateful, abhorrent
adjective
Opposite: unheinous
Translations
Every language
adj totally reprehensible
| Português | hediondo |
|---|---|
| Français | atroce |
| Deutsch | abscheulich, verabscheuungswürdig |
| Italiano | efferato, abominevole, odioso |
| Ελληνικά | στυγερός stygerós, αποτρόπαιος apotrópaios, απεχθής apechthís, μισητός misitós |
| Русский | гну́сный gnúsnyj, ме́рзкий mérzkij, отврати́тельный otvratítelʹnyj |
Talk about this word "heinous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/heinous. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. heinous. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/heinous "heinous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/heinous.Cite this
@misc{heinous_2026,
title = {heinous},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/heinous},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
