Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, relating to, or resembling the heroes of literature, legend, or myth.
- adjective Having, displaying, or characteristic of the qualities appropriate to a hero; courageous.
- adjective Impressive in size or scope; grand.
- adjective Of a size or scale that is larger than life.
- noun A line of heroic verse.
- noun Heroic behavior or action.
- noun Melodramatic behavior or language.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Having or displaying the character or attributes of a hero; daring; intrepid; determined: as, a heroic warrior or explorer.
- Of or pertaining to heroes; suitable to the character of a hero; bold, daring, noble, or commanding in proportions, form, or quality: as, a heroic statue or monument; a heroic poem or symphony; a heroic enterprise; specifically, in art, larger than life: said of a statue, or a figure in a picture. See
heroic size , below. - Having recourse to extreme measures; boldly experimental; daring; rash: as, heroic treatment.
- Synonyms Gallant, Valiant, etc. (see
brave ), daring, fearless, dauntless. - noun A hero.
- noun A heroic verse: most frequently used in the plural, sometimes sarcastically in the sense of bombast, or extravagant expressions of admiration or praise: as, to go into heroics over a picture.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of or pertaining to, or like, a hero; of the nature of heroes; distinguished by the existence of heroes
- adjective Worthy of a hero; bold; daring; brave; illustrious
- adjective (Sculpture & Painting) Larger than life size, but smaller than colossal; -- said of the representation of a human figure.
- adjective the age when the heroes, or those called the children of the gods, are supposed to have lived.
- adjective that which celebrates the deeds of a hero; epic poetry.
- adjective (Med.) treatment or remedies of a severe character, suited to a desperate case.
- adjective (Pros.) the verse of heroic or epic poetry, being in English, German, and Italian the iambic of ten syllables; in French the iambic of twelve syllables; and in classic poetry the hexameter.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of or relating to a
hero orheroine ;supremely noble - adjective
Courageous ; displayingheroism .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort
- noun a verse form suited to the treatment of heroic or elevated themes; dactylic hexameter or iambic pentameter
- adjective having or displaying qualities appropriate for heroes
- adjective of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope
- adjective relating to or characteristic of heroes of antiquity
- adjective very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale)
Etymologies
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Examples
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It's really only emerging, but what we know about it now, truly the term heroic applies.
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The company is surviving, "hand to mouth," Pohanka says, thanks, he adds, to "the generosity of certain individuals -- what we call heroic giving."
Questions for WNO as it negotiates Kennedy Center contract 2010
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And instead of having a taste for being successful merchants and retiring at thirty, some people have a taste for high and what we call heroic forms of excitement.
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Nelson, who flies his colours in the ship, we see men brought to the test and giving proof of what we call heroic feeling.
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In this sense, then, he intends: "That equality of numbers, in every verse which we call heroic, was either not known, or not always practised in Chaucer's age."
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 57, No. 357, June, 1845 Various
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In ages which we call heroic, the saint works miracles, the warrior performs exploits beyond the strength of natural man.
Vanishing Roads and Other Essays Richard Le Gallienne 1906
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And instead of having a taste for being successful merchants and retiring at thirty, some people have a taste for high and what we call heroic forms of excitement.
The Pocket R.L.S., being favourite passages from the works of Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson 1872
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In ages which we call heroic the saint works miracles, the warrior performs exploits beyond the strength of natural man.
Caesar: a Sketch James Anthony Froude 1856
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Mr. Noda paid tribute to what he called the heroic effort of workers who risked their lives to bring the plant under control.
NYT > Home Page By HIROKO TABUCHI 2011
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Shoulders praised what he called the heroic efforts of teachers, staff and others to help evacuate the bus.
The Seattle Times 2011
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