adjective · formal
heinous
/ˈheɪnəs/HEI·nous
extremely wicked or shocking, especially describing very serious crimes
Examples
“The court described the murder as a heinous act and imposed the maximum penalty.”
“Hate crimes of that nature are considered particularly heinous by society.”
“Using 'heinous' for trivial mistakes makes an essay sound exaggerated rather than precise.”
Band 8 sentence
“The sentencing judge called the assault a particularly heinous crime that shocked the entire community.”
Collocations
- heinous crime
- a heinous act
- particularly/especially heinous
Word family
Common mistakes
Use 'heinous' to describe any 'very bad' thing (e.g. 'a heinous mistake')→use 'serious' or 'significant' for non-criminal contexts
Say 'very heinous' to intensify the word→say 'particularly heinous' or just 'heinous'
Say it for a higher band
5bad→6serious→7+heinous
Synonyms
atrocious
egregious
Easily confused
egregious
“The company's actions showed egregious neglect for employee safety.”
atrocious
“The living conditions in the camp were atrocious.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Crime & Law
Learn it with its set