variants
or less commonly heroical
1
: of or relating to courageous people or the mythological or legendary figures of antiquity : of, relating to, resembling, or suggesting heroes especially of antiquity
heroic legends
the heroic age
2
a
: exhibiting or marked by courage and daring
It was a heroic decision.
b
: supremely noble or self-sacrificing
a heroic gesture
received medals for their heroic actions
3
a
: of impressive size, power, extent, or effect
a heroic voice
b(1)
: of great intensity : extreme
heroic effort
(2)
: of a kind that is likely only to be undertaken to save a life
heroic surgery
4
: of, relating to, or constituting drama written during the Restoration in heroic couplets and concerned with a conflict between love and honor
1
: a verse or poem written during the Restoration using rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter and concerned with a conflict between love and honor : a heroic verse or poem
2
heroics
hi-ˈrō-iks 
also her-ˈō-,
or hē-ˈrō-
plural
a
: flamboyantly boastful language or action
avoids heroics in his writing
b
: courageous, noble, or self-sacrificing action or behavior : heroic action or behavior
the heroics of the civil rights movement
c
: determined effort especially in the face of difficulty
Examples of heroic in a Sentence
Adjective
It was heroic of those women to fight for the right to vote.
The soldiers received medals for their heroic actions.
Despite heroic efforts to save the business, it ultimately went bankrupt.
a political battle of heroic proportions
Recent Examples on the Web
Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025
The first of Rice’s heroic efforts came in the 58th minute, with the 26-year-old breaking the deadlock with a shot that whipped around the Real Madrid wall into the corner of the net.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2025
Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025
The bullpen heroics have supported a Mets starting rotation that entered Saturday with a 3.96 ERA, which ranked 25th among MLB staffs.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heroic
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Adjective
Miller suffered a traumatic brain injury during a mission gone wrong in 2006, and Mendoza aimed to help jog his memory by re-creating their heroic survival story.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025
The first of Rice’s heroic efforts came in the 58th minute, with the 26-year-old breaking the deadlock with a shot that whipped around the Real Madrid wall into the corner of the net.
—Ben Church, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2025
Noun
The Gators got to this point by surviving a heavyweight bout with fellow SEC team Auburn, outlasting the Tigers through the heroics of Walter Clayton Jr.
—Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025
The bullpen heroics have supported a Mets starting rotation that entered Saturday with a 3.96 ERA, which ranked 25th among MLB staffs.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for heroic
Cite this Entry
“Heroic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heroic. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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