heroic 
he·roic (hi rō′ik)
adjective
- of or characterized by men of godlike strength and courage the heroic age of Greece and Rome
- like or characteristic of a hero or his deeds; strong, brave, noble, powerful, etc. heroic conduct, a heroic effort
- of or about a hero and his deeds; epic a heroic poem
- exalted; eloquent; high-flown heroic words
- daring and risky, but used as a last resort heroic measures
- Art larger than life-size but less than colossal a heroic statue
Etymology: L heroicus < Gr heroikos, of a hero < hērōs, hero
noun
- heroic verse
- pretentious or extravagant talk or action meant to seem heroic
- heroic behavior or deeds
Preposition: on
- stage: He does Princes rather well and is absolutely heroic on stage.
Adjective complement with noun phrase
- do: He should never be called on to do anything remotely heroic.
Modifies a noun
- couplet: Romeo and Juliet are an example of a heroic couplet.
- deed: For this heroic deed, Grenfell received the Victoria Cross.
- self-sacrifice: The heroic self-sacrifice of 2nd Lt. Collin was a magnificent example to all.
- feat: Many stories are told of heroic feats of abstinence from athletes bent only on sporting glory.
- struggle: The former presents a heroic struggle, the latter relates the artist to society.
- warrior: Will you play an heroic warrior or stealthy thief, do you join a mages guild or the assassin guild?
Modifying Another Word
- truly: This, in itself, underlines Pery's status not just as romantic hero but also as a figure of truly heroic stature.
- absolutely: He does Princes rather well and is absolutely heroic on stage.
- almost: In a war that has no heroes, Bishop Charles Henry Brent was almost heroic in the dedication with which he fought against opium.
- often: His influence through the often heroic nature of his art has been immense.
- even: In Anton's opinion his actions were rational and even heroic.
- so: They're just so heroic, aren't they?
Used with adjective complement
- become: The character has to have gone through utter hell in order to become heroic.
- look: The animation is variable -- sometimes the heroes look suitably heroic, while at other times they look jerky and awkward.
- seem: In the eyes of the world they may not seem as heroic - but their fidelity and perseverance form their path to eternal life.
- feel: Many an armchair veteran hailed as a hero felt distinctly less heroic amid the din and stress of action.
- call: Called closed if the sentence ends on the second line; called heroic if they are in iambic pentameter.
- make: The character is never sanctified or made heroic, and the reconciliations he makes are with himself rather than with others.
Decorative art doesnot existöonlyart, intimate, heroic, or epic.
How heroic to be able to suppress one's vanity to the extent of confessing that the game is too hard.
The greatest obstacle to being heroic is the doubt whether one may not be going to prove one's self a fool; the truest heroism is to resist the doubt; and the profoundest wisdom, to know when it ought to be resisted and when to be obeyed.
There lies the port; the vessel, puffs her sail: There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners, Souls that have toiled, and wrought, and thought with meö That ever with a frolic welcome took The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed Free hearts, free foreheadsöyou and I are old: Old age hath yet his honour and his toil; Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with gods. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep Moans round with many voices.Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows: for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down: It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles, And see the great Achilles, whom we knew. Though much is taken, much abides: and though We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and hearth: that which we are, we are: One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Under a more heroic Minister, and in a less self-seeking age, it is probablethat England would have preferred the risk, whatever its extent, to the infamy of betraying an ally whom she had enticed into peril. But our Ministry is not heroic; and our generation, though not indifferent to glory, prefers it when it is safe and cheap.
You see tragedy requires persons of heroic stature. It works on the principle of people being more than humanösuper-humanöand also being only too human. But there just aren't many great figures around now, so the tragic mechanisms can't work.
All Presidents start out pretending to run a crusade, but after a couple of years they find they are running something much less heroic, much more intractable: namely, the Presidency.
Browse dictionary entries near heroic
- ‹ Herodotus
- ‹ Herodias
- ‹ Herod Antipas
- ‹ Herod Agrippa I
- ‹ Herod
- ‹ hero worship
- ‹ hero sandwich
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