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

You root for the right people in “Unabomber,” even if the heroine is fictional and the talented Mr. Tremblay makes youthful frustration and rage a bit too sympathetic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 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

In the novel, Nyathi's heroine, Joyce, believes she has married into a union of one man and one woman, yet her husband, Jonasi, marries and sets up homes with three other women behind her back.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Think of it more as an inversion, with a bottom-up view of its heroine Emma Harte’s life viewed through parallel timelines.

From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026

The blue and yellow eyes were following the heroine, who was gaily carrying a pail of water to what turned out to be her elephant.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

I could easily hail “Howl’s Moving Castle” as a tribute to maturity, especially when placed against other Miyazaki stories starring young heroines setting out on adventures.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

What interests you about the struggles of your 20-something heroines?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

Few heroines of English literature have as distinct a voice as Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

He’s a little too awful for me, but I do think we could use less sanitized heroes and heroines in modern love stories.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026

He was the son of a distinguished king, a nephew of two well-known mythological heroines, and the brother of three.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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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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