antiheroic

American  

[an-tee-hi-roh-ik, an-tahy-] / ˌæn ti hɪˈroʊ ɪk, ˌæn taɪ- /

adjective

1. (of a protagonist) possessing the characteristics of an anti-hero.

2. (of a literary work) having an antihero as its protagonist.

---

Etymology

Origin of antiheroic

First recorded in 1875–80; anti- + heroic

Example Sentences

“A Landscape Painter,” one of his earliest short stories, follows the antiheroic Locksley, a painter with one foot in both of the neighborhood’s social worlds.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

It’s worth noting she first gained recognition in Hollywood near the tail end of the 2010s, a decade defined by confessional, antiheroic millennial dramedy in the comically self-aware vein of “Girls,” “Insecure” and “Broad City.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026

For her part, Spalding might see all the work of the past few years as feeding into a larger project, given how much the collaborative, antiheroic approach of “Iphigenia” comports with her solo work.

From New York Times • Nov. 2, 2021

Those with a high tolerance for antiheroic political thrillers will have no problem watching it — or figuring out its overall plot well before it’s revealed.

From Washington Post • Oct. 29, 2020

Defiantly antiheroic in tone, Michael Cimino’s 1978 film also indicated the future path of US cinema through casting the Vietnamese as an implacably brutal enemy.

From The Guardian • Jun. 5, 2020