heinous

WOTD - 16 January 2010    

English

Etymology

From Old French haineus (compare French haineux) from hair (“to hate”), of Germanic origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈheɪnəs/, /ˈhiːnəs/

• Audio (UK)

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• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -eɪnəs

Adjective

heinous (comparative more heinous, superlative most heinous)

1. Totally reprehensible.

   I hope they catch the person responsible for that heinous crime.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "heinous" is often applied: crime, act, sin, murder, offence.

Synonyms

• (totally reprehensible): abominable, horrible, odious

Translations

totally reprehensible

Armenian: զզվելի (hy) (zzveli), նողկալի (hy) (noġkali), գարշելի (hy) (garšeli), անպետք (hy) (anpetk’), սարսափելի (hy) (sarsap’eli), զարհուրելի (hy) (zarhureli) Danish: afskyelig (da), frygtelig (da), grufuld (da) Dutch: afschuwelijk (nl), afgrijselijk (nl), afschrikwekkend (nl), verschrikkelijk (nl), verwerpelijk (nl)

Finnish: katala (fi), kauhea (fi), hirvittävä (fi) French: atroce (fr) Hungarian: förtelmes (hu), szörnyű (hu) Portuguese: hediondo (pt) Spanish: atroz (es) Swedish: avskyvärd (sv), vedervärdig (sv), förfärlig (sv), ohygglig (sv)

Anagrams

• in house, in-house, inhouse