heroics
Britishplural noun
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prosody short for heroic verse
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extravagant or melodramatic language, behaviour, etc
Explanation
When you act brave in an overly showy way, that's heroics. Sailing your little boat out into a raging storm just so you can brag about it later? Clearly nothing but heroics. Heroics is used to mean both true heroism and a bravado that often involves dangerous or ridiculous actions. Use it in the first way for real bravery, like the heroics of a firefighter rescuing someone from a burning house or an emergency room doctor who saves a patient with a serious injury. Used in the second way, this word describes false or showy bravery and can even describe someone's speech: "He bragged about his success on the soccer field, but it was all just heroics."
Vocabulary lists containing heroics
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is the latter which Infantino is championing, especially after the heroics of Cape Verde.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Before then, Vozinha's heroics had seen them claim their first World Cup point in a goalless draw with European champions Spain.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
With his heroics in the Cape Verde net, Vozinha held European champion Spain to a 0-0 draw—and the first major upset of this tournament.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
The diminutive magician scored twice, taking his goal total for the tournament to seven, before converting in the shootout as Argentina clinched a first World Cup since Diego Maradona's heroics in 1986.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
Frieda had put her coat back on her head, and the two of us, so draped, trotted along enjoying the warm breeze and Frieda’s heroics.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
