Heinous Meaning: Pronunciation, Examples and Quiz
Heinous (adjective). Heinous describes an act that is shockingly wicked or morally appalling. It expresses very strong condemnation, rather than mild annoyance or an ordinary mistake.
Example: In the novel, the villagers condemn the ruler’s heinous treatment of the prisoners.
Pronunciation guide: HAY-nuhs. Capital letters show the stressed syllable.
Explore the usage · Try the three-question quiz · Keep learning
Heinous crime and heinous act: what do they mean?
A heinous crime is described as particularly shocking or wicked. A heinous act is an action that attracts similarly strong moral condemnation. These phrases communicate the speaker’s judgment about its seriousness.
Use the word carefully. Calling a late bus “heinous” would normally be exaggeration or a joke. In serious writing, it would be much stronger than the situation warrants.
How to pronounce and spell heinous
Heinous has two syllables, with the stronger stress on HAY. Its first syllable sounds like the word hay. The spelling is h-e-i-n-o-u-s.
Read this short contrast aloud: “a heinous act” and “a harmless mistake.” The phrases express very different judgments, so practise the meaning as well as the sound.
Heinous in a sentence
- The documentary examines how the community responded to a heinous crime.
- The fictional ruler’s heinous deeds turn his former supporters against him.
- In her review, Maya calls the villain’s betrayal a heinous act.
- The speaker condemned the heinous abuse described in the report.
These examples concern severe wrongdoing. A sentence does not need graphic detail to show the force of the adjective.
Related forms, alternatives and origin
Heinously is an adverb: “The villain behaved heinously.” Heinousness is a noun for the quality or degree of wickedness. In everyday learning, the adjective is the most useful form to practise first.
Atrocious, abominable and wicked can be alternatives in suitable contexts. Words such as admirable or virtuous express contrasting moral judgments, but they will not fit every sentence in the same way.
The word entered English through Anglo-French forms associated with hatred. Its history helps explain its strong negative tone.
Practise heinous: three quick questions
Try each question before opening its answer. If a question asks you to write a sentence, your own correct example is welcome.
Question 1
Which is a better serious use of heinous: A) a minor spelling mistake or B) a fictional villain’s cruel abuse of prisoners?
Show answer 1 and explanation
B. Heinous expresses strong condemnation of severe wrongdoing. It is too strong for the ordinary spelling mistake.
Question 2
Does heinous begin with the sound in hay or the sound in high?
Show answer 2 and explanation
Hay. Say HAY-nuhs, with two syllables and first-syllable stress.
Question 3
Complete: “The reviewer condemned the villain’s ___ deeds.” Choose heinous or heinously.
Show answer 3 and explanation
Heinous. The adjective describes the noun deeds. Heinously would describe an action, as in “behaved heinously.”
Keep learning
Heinous pronunciation by Julien Miquel on YouTube.
Compare these words next: Audacious meaning and practice and Apocryphal meaning and practice.
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Dictionary reference: Merriam-Webster: Heinous. The examples and practice questions on this page are written for English Skill Studio.
FROM READING TO PRACTICE
Practise this topic
Build on this article with a connected lesson. Explore the explanation, try the examples, and check what you remember.
Pernicious
Distinguish serious wrongdoing from pernicious harm, which may develop subtly over time.
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Explore an expression for a visible part of a much larger problem.
Grammar lessonAdjectives – Types, Order, Comparisons
Practise where adjectives go when describing people, things or situations with “heinous”.
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