heroic
[hi-roh-ik]
- Also he·ro·i·cal. of, relating to, or characteristic of a hero or heroine.
- suitable to the character of a hero in size or concept; daring; noble: a heroic ambition.
- having or displaying the character or attributes of a hero; extraordinarily bold, altruistic, determined, etc.: a heroic explorer.
- having or involving recourse to boldness, daring, or extreme measures: Heroic measures were taken to save his life.
- dealing with or describing the deeds, attributes, etc., of heroes, as in literature.
- of, relating to, or characteristic of the heroes of antiquity: heroic mythology.
- used in heroic poetry.Compare heroic verse.
- resembling heroic poetry in language or style; grandiloquent.
- (of style or language) lofty; extravagant; grand.
- larger than life-size: a statue of heroic proportions.
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- Usually heroics. heroic verse.
- heroics,
- flamboyant or extravagant language, sentiment, or behavior, intended to seem heroic.
- heroic action or behavior.
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Origin of heroic
Synonyms
See more synonyms for heroic on Thesaurus.com1, 2. dauntless, valiant, valorous, gallant, brave, courageous. 7. epic.
Antonyms
1, 2. cowardly.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for heroic
Contemporary Examples
Sometimes they do heroic things, sometimes they wish they could.
Claret for boys, port for men, and brandy for heroes, according to Dr. Johnson, and Hitch went for the heroic.
Hamas called the attack “heroic” and, disgustingly, tweeted out photos of the bodies.
Some heroic volunteers, like Spencer, have joined the fight—but not enough.
“Like Nina Pham, she is a heroic person—a person who has dedicated her life to helping others,” he told a press conference.
Historical Examples
It does not often fall to the lot of a boy to perform a deed so heroic.
Brave and BoldHoratio Alger
As might be anticipated, the poem is in the heroic measure of Pope.
De Libris: Prose and VerseAustin Dobson
Those whom we have hitherto noticed were the men of an heroic age.
A Book of AutographsNathaniel Hawthorne
Moral love will go the full length of heroic self-sacrifice.
Understanding the ScripturesFrancis McConnell
For this heroic action he has since received the Victoria Cross.
The Story of the Malakand Field ForceSir Winston S. Churchill
heroic
heroical
- of, like, or befitting a hero
- courageous but desperate
- relating to or treating of heroes and their deeds
- of, relating to, or resembling the heroes of classical mythology
- (of language, manner, etc) extravagant
- prosody of, relating to, or resembling heroic verse
- (of the arts, esp sculpture) larger than life-size; smaller than colossal
- RC Church
- held to such a degree as to enable a person to perform virtuous actions with exceptional promptness, ease and pleasure, and with self-abnegation and self-controlheroic virtue
- performed or undergone by such a personthe heroic witness of martyrdom
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See also heroics
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for heroic
adj.
1540s, shortened from heroical (early 15c.), also heroycus "noble, magnanimous," from Latin heroicus "of a hero, heroic, mythical," from Greek heroikos "pertaining to heroes," from heros (see hero (n.1)). Earlier was heroical (early 15c.). The Heroic Age in Greece was the time before the return of the armies from the fall of Troy. Related: Heroically. Heroic verse (1610s), decasyllabic iambic, is from Italian.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
heroic
(hĭ-rō′ĭk)- Relating to a risky medical procedure that may endanger the patient but also has a possibility of being successful, whereas lesser action would result in failure.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.