heroine

American  

[her-oh-in] / ˈhɛr oʊ ɪn /

noun

• heroines
  plural

1. a woman noted for courageous acts or nobility of character.

   Esther and other biblical heroines.

2. a woman who, in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded as a role model or ideal.

   Name two women who have been heroines in your life.

3. the principal female character in a story, play, film, etc.

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heroine British  

/ ˈhɛrəʊɪn /

noun

1. a woman possessing heroic qualities

2. a woman idealized for possessing superior qualities

3. the main female character in a novel, play, film, etc

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Gender

See hero.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superheroine
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• heroines
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of heroine

1650–60; < Latin hērōīnē < Greek hērōī́nē, feminine of hḗrōs hero; see -ine ²

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Explanation

A heroine is a real-life or fictional woman who has lots of courage and fights on the side of good, maybe by rescuing a kitten from a tree, slaying an evil dragon, or helping you with your science fair project. In books and movies, the heroine is the woman who is the main character, and in comic books and fantasy novels, heroines often have superpowers that help them accomplish incredible feats. There are heroines in regular life too, like women’s rights activists who fight against sexism, or a brave mother who rescues her child from a burning building. Heroine sounds the same as the addictive drug heroin, but a heroine will save your life, while heroin will probably end it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heroine heroines

There’s a scene in the new “Sense and Sensibility,” out this week, in which Jane Austen’s classic heart-on-her sleeve heroine Marianne Dashwood runs through the woods barefoot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Sarandon, who played the heroine Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, praised Curry as "a funny, sexy, original".

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

And yet there was still a sense that Hollywood underserved her canny ability to appear both ferocious and vulnerable, whether as a horror heroine in “Scream 4” or a superpowered cheerleader on “Heroes.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Our titular heroine is only 13 years old when her escapade begins – a little more mature than most of the director’s protagonists, but still innocent enough not to be jaded.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

The eyes that shone under the green visor were following the heroine and her elephant across the wide screen and into the circus tent.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

“I was using Riefenstahl to point out, or so I thought, that these heroes and heroines were straight out of Nazi propaganda,” Verhoeven told The Guardian in 2018.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

As heroines Brenda and Cindy, respectively, Hall and Faris were daffy, dopey and committed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

In “Trouble,” she buzzes with nervous energy, her dizzying delivery of Raphaelson’s smart dialogue creating the template for the screwball heroines soon to follow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

Ms. Morrison wanted to infuse opera with new people, new voices, new forms, and stories that didn’t necessarily end with dead heroines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026

I couldn’t tell where the stories left off and the dreams began, her voice the voice of the heroines in my sleep.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

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Related Words

• beau ideal
• eidolon
• epitome
• example
• exemplar
• good example
• icon
• ideal
• idol
• model
• paragon
• person to look up to
• role model
• shining example

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