Heroic

//hɪˈɹəʊ.ɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1
A heroic verse.
2
a verse form suited to the treatment of heroic or elevated themes; dactylic hexameter or iambic pentameter wordnet

Adjective

1
Of or relating to a hero or heroine; supremely noble.
"heroic deeds"
2
Courageous; displaying heroism.
"To stand upon the ramparts and die for our principles is heroic. To sally forth to battle and win for our principles is something more than heroic."
3
Of a size larger than life, but less than colossal.

Adjective

1
having or displaying qualities appropriate for heroes wordnet
2
showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort wordnet
3
of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope wordnet
4
very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale) wordnet
5
relating to or characteristic of heroes of antiquity wordnet

Synonyms

desperate herolike abysmal acknowledged admitted alcaic

Antonyms

chicken-hearted cowardly timorous

Example

"It was heroic of them to oppose the enemy."

Etymology

Partly from Middle French heroïque and partly from Latin hērōicus. By surface analysis, hero + -ic.

Related phrases

heroic assumption heroic cooling heroic couplet heroic dose heroic epic heroic medicine heroic meter mock-heroic heroic verse

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.