heinous
A heinous crime is very evil or wicked. Of course, some people only use the term as an exaggeration, claiming that their parents' requirement that they write thank you notes after their birthdays is a heinous form of torture.
Heinous descends from Middle English, from Old French haineus, from haine "hatred," from hair "to hate." So when you want to use the word heinous in all seriousness, think of acts that are considered hateful (or outrageous, and shocking). Think: treason, torture, the clubbing of baby seals. Heinous is pronounced HĀ-nəs.
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extremely wicked, deeply criminal
Vocabulary lists containing heinous
To seal their coven, keep their magic, and avoid being turned into toads, twelve-year-old Seven Salazar of Ravenskill must work with the bully Valley Pepperhorn and the new girl Thorn Laroux to defeat the Nightbeast.
This biography chronicles the life of Sojourner Truth, a woman who was born a slave, and who became the embodiment of the universal ideals of abolition and equality.
Mr. Lemoncello invites teams from across the U.S. to compete in a first-ever Library Olympics, where they must solve puzzles and decipher clues to become champions of literature and his library.
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