heroic
/hɪˈrəʊɪk
/adjective
1Having the characteristics of a hero or heroine; admirably brave or determined: heroic deeds heroic bomb disposal experts...
- Wallace was a loser - a noble, brave, heroic loser, but still ultimately unsuccessful.
- They want lively narrative, bold handling of intrepid if not downright heroic characters, and an unflinching recognition of our past militarism.
- As he repeatedly said, war is really about survival - the only heroic thing an individual can do is survive.
Synonyms
brave, courageous, valiant, valorous, intrepid, bold, daring, audacious, superhuman, Herculean, fearless, doughty, undaunted, dauntless, unafraid, plucky, indomitable, stout-hearted, lionhearted, mettlesome, venturesome, gallant, stalwart, chivalrous, noble;
North American rock-ribbed
informal gutsy, spunky, ballsy, feisty
rare venturous
1.1Of or representing heroes or heroines: early medieval heroic poetry...
- It must have been during the Dark Age that heroic poetry developed and spread, even if (as seems probable) it originated in the Mycenaean age.
- This heroic, nationalist saga has been recapitulated in hundreds of books, articles, and school-texts ever since.
- These include native law texts as well as heroic prose narratives and intricately crafted rhymed verse in hundreds of different meters.
2(Of language or a work of art) grand or grandiose in scale or intention: one passes under pyramids and obelisks, all on a heroic scale...
- The middle classes preferred the German light or comic operas of Nicolai and Lortzing to the French or Italian heroic works.
- They bring the highfalutin heroic language back down to earth and make it palatable.
- Being aware of our own heritage makes us able to speak the same language that the Iraqis speak - the heroic language.
Synonyms
prodigious, grand, enormous, huge, massive, titanic, colossal, monumental, stupendous;
epic, Homeric
informal mega
2.1 Sculpture (Of a statue) larger than life size but less than colossal.Preoccupied pedestrians amble past the heroic statue of San Martin on horseback without a glance....
- Exterior view of lone figures scurrying across empty squares dominated by heroic statuary.
- His new work for the Commons at Metro Tech is based upon the traditional heroic monument.
noun (heroics)
1Behaviour or talk that is bold or dramatic: the England star is getting special treatment because of his World Cup heroics...
- In the circumstances both matches reached a remarkably high standard with all four players performing heroics as they produced high class tennis.
- It is an ‘ordinary’ girl, not a magic man, who performs the real heroics.
- The stories of heroics performed in war zones to get the story home to breakfast tables will only sound more resounding in the weeks ahead.
2 short for heroic verse.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French heroique or Latin heroicus, from Greek hērōikos 'relating to heroes', from hērōs 'hero'.