antiheroine

American  

[an-tee-her-oh-in, an-tahy-] / ˈæn tiˌhɛr oʊ ɪn, ˈæn taɪ- /

noun

1. a female protagonist, as in a novel or play, whose attitudes and behavior are not typical of a conventional heroine.

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Etymology

Origin of antiheroine

First recorded in 1905–10; anti- + heroine

Example Sentences

But as Ritter thickens her plot and ups the stakes, swapping con tricks for corpses, the book turns into a mystery, one that its antiheroine tries frantically to unravel.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2025

Schmieding had the Peacock show, "Rutherford Falls," but her "Reservation Dogs" turn sells her as a compelling antiheroine game for just about anything.

From Salon • Aug. 2, 2023

Vivian isn’t merely a point-of-entry character; her professional setbacks leave her ambivalent-to-anxious about her impending motherhood, and her cringe-inducing journalistic transgressions earn her the antiheroine label.

From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2022

But where Moshfegh’s protagonist lives to sleep, Broder’s antiheroine lives to eat.

From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2021

With her fishnet tights, pink and blue locks and baseball bat, Minaj is a mirror image of DC’s menacing antiheroine, as is her new husband, Kenneth Petty, as Joker.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2019