heinous
/ˈheɪnəs/
heinous
English
Adj Top 13,699
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Definition
Totally reprehensible.
Etymology
From Middle English hainous, from Old French haïneus (compare French haineux) from haïr (“to hate”), hadir (“to hate”) (compare Old French enhadir (“to become filled with hate”)), from Frankish *hattjan (“to 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.
Example Sentences
- "I hope they catch the person responsible for that heinous crime."
- "The perpetrators of this heinous act must be brought to justice."
- "Perhaps burdened by the weight of history, talk of the heinous 2-2 draw in 2002, or the magnitude of the fixture, Scotland seemed spooked in the early throes."
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