Final answer:
The term 'heinous' serves as an adjective in English and means shockingly evil or wicked, often used in contexts such as 'heinous crime' or 'heinous act.'
Step-by-step explanation:
The word heinous is an adjective, which is one of the basic parts of speech. In English, an adjective is used to modify a noun or a pronoun, giving more information about the noun or pronoun's definition. The definition of heinous is something shockingly evil or wicked. For example, one might say, 'The criminal committed a heinous crime.'
Related phrases often include 'heinous act' or 'heinous crime,' where heinous emphasizes the extreme negativity of the act or crime in question. In literature or discussion regarding morality and ethics, this term is frequently encountered, particularly when describing actions that are universally considered to be morally reprehensible.