Adjacent Words

Heroic definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

HERO'IC, a. Pertaining to a hero or heroes; as heroic valor.
1. Becoming a hero; bold; daring; illustrious; as heroic action; heroic enterprises.
2. Brave; intrepid; magnanimous; enterprising; illustrious for valor; as Hector, the heroic son of Priam; a heroic race.
3. Productive of heroes; as a heroic line in pedigree.
4. Reciting the achievements of heroes; as a heroic poem.
5. Used in heroic poetry or hexameter; as heroic verse; a heroic foot.
Heroic age, the age when the heroes,or those called the children of the gods, are supposed to have lived.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale); "an epic voyage"; "of heroic proportions"; "heroic sculpture" [syn: epic, heroic, larger-than-life]
2: relating to or characteristic of heroes of antiquity; "heroic legends"; "the heroic age"
3: having or displaying qualities appropriate for heroes; "the heroic attack on the beaches of Normandy"; "heroic explorers" [syn: heroic, heroical]
4: of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or scope; "an expansive lifestyle"; "in the grand manner"; "collecting on a grand scale"; "heroic undertakings" [syn: expansive, grand, heroic]
5: showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously undertaken in desperation as a last resort; "made a last desperate attempt to reach the climber"; "the desperate gallantry of our naval task forces marked the turning point in the Pacific war"- G.C.Marshall; "they took heroic measures to save his life" [syn: desperate, heroic] n
1: a verse form suited to the treatment of heroic or elevated themes; dactylic hexameter or iambic pentameter [syn: heroic verse, heroic meter, heroic]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective also heroical Date: 1549 1. of, relating to, resembling, or suggesting heroes especially of antiquity 2. a. exhibiting or marked by courage and daring b. supremely noble or self-sacrificing 3. a. of impressive size, power, extent, or effect <heroic doses> <a heroic voice> b. (1) of great intensity ; extreme, drastic <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 • heroically adverb II. noun Date: 1596 1. a heroic verse or poem 2. plural a. flamboyantly heroic language or action b. heroic action or behavior c. determined effort especially in the face of difficulty

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 a (of an act or a quality) of or fit for a hero. b (of a person) like a hero. 2 a (of language) grand, high-flown, dramatic. b (of a work of art) heroic in scale or subject. 3 (of poetry) dealing with the ancient heroes. --n. (in pl.) 1 a high-flown language or sentiments. b unduly bold behaviour. 2 = heroic verse. Phrases and idioms: the heroic age the period in Greek history before the return from Troy. heroic couplet two lines of rhyming iambic pentameters. heroic verse a type of verse used for heroic poetry, esp. the hexameter, the iambic pentameter, or the alexandrine. Derivatives: heroically adv. Etymology: F héro{iuml}que or L heroicus f. Gk heroikos (as HERO)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heroic He*ro"ic, a. [F. h['e]ro["i]que, L. hero["i]cus, Gr. ?.] 1. Of or pertaining to, or like, a hero; of the nature of heroes; distinguished by the existence of heroes; as, the heroic age; an heroic people; heroic valor. 2. Worthy of a hero; bold; daring; brave; illustrious; as, heroic action; heroic enterprises. 3. (Sculpture & Painting) Larger than life size, but smaller than colossal; -- said of the representation of a human figure. Heroic Age, the age when the heroes, or those called the children of the gods, are supposed to have lived. Heroic poetry, that which celebrates the deeds of a hero; epic poetry. Heroic treatment or remedies (Med.), treatment or remedies of a severe character, suited to a desperate case. Heroic verse (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. Syn: Brave; intrepid; courageous; daring; valiant; bold; gallant; fearless; enterprising; noble; magnanimous; illustrious.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Heroic He*ro"ic, a. [F. h['e]ro["i]que, L. hero["i]cus, Gr. ?.] 1. Of or pertaining to, or like, a hero; of the nature of heroes; distinguished by the existence of heroes; as, the heroic age; an heroic people; heroic valor. 2. Worthy of a hero; bold; daring; brave; illustrious; as, heroic action; heroic enterprises. 3. (Sculpture & Painting) Larger than life size, but smaller than colossal; -- said of the representation of a human figure. Heroic Age, the age when the heroes, or those called the children of the gods, are supposed to have lived. Heroic poetry, that which celebrates the deeds of a hero; epic poetry. Heroic treatment or remedies (Med.), treatment or remedies of a severe character, suited to a desperate case. Heroic verse (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. Syn: Brave; intrepid; courageous; daring; valiant; bold; gallant; fearless; enterprising; noble; magnanimous; illustrious.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(heroics) 1. If you describe a person or their actions as heroic, you admire them because they show extreme bravery. His heroic deeds were celebrated in every corner of India. = courageous ADJ: usu ADJ n • heroically He had acted heroically during the liner's evacuation. ADV: ADV with v 2. If you describe an action or event as heroic, you admire it because it involves great effort or determination to succeed. The company has made heroic efforts at cost reduction... ADJ [approval] • heroically Single parents cope heroically in doing the job of two people. ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj 3. Heroic means being or relating to the hero of a story. ...the book's central, heroic figure. ADJ: usu ADJ n 4. Heroics are actions involving bravery, courage, or determination. ...the man whose aerial heroics helped save the helicopter pilot... N-PLURAL 5. If you describe someone's actions or plans as heroics, you think that they are foolish or dangerous because they are too difficult or brave for the situation in which they occur. (SPOKEN) He said his advice was: 'No heroics, stay within the law'... N-PLURAL: usu with brd-neg [disapproval]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Brave, valiant, courageous, intrepid, bold, daring, gallant, fearless, dauntless, noble, magnanimous. 2. Epic. 3. Violent, extreme, desperate, extravagant.

Moby Thesaurus

Alcaic, Anacreontic, Atlantean, Brobdingnagian, Castalian, Cyclopean, Gargantuan, Herculean, Homeric, Hudibrastic, Pierian, Pindaric, Theocritean, abysmal, acknowledged, admitted, alto, altruistic, astronomic, audacious, august, bardic, baritone, bass, big, bighearted, bold, bold-spirited, brave, bravura, bucolic, chivalric, chivalrous, choral, choric, classical, coloratura, colossal, conventional, courageous, customary, cyclopean, daring, dauntless, desperate, determined, didactic, distinguished, dithyrambic, doughty, dramatic, drastic, eclogic, elegiac, elephantine, elevated, eminent, enormous, epic, established, exaggerated, exalted, extravagant, extreme, fabulous, falsetto, famous, fearless, fixed, folk, gallant, generous, giant, giantlike, gigantic, glorious, godlike, grand, grandiose, great, great of heart, greathearted, hallowed, handed down, handsome, hardy, herolike, high, high-minded, hoary, honorable, huge, hymnal, idealistic, idyllic, immemorial, immense, infinite, intrepid, inveterate, ironhearted, jumbo, knightlike, knightly, largehearted, lauded, legendary, liberal, lionhearted, liturgical, lofty, long-established, long-standing, lyric, magnanimous, magnificent, magniloquent, majestic, mammoth, manful, manly, mighty, miraculous, mock-heroic, monster, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, mythological, narrative, noble, noble-minded, of long standing, of the folk, openhanded, operatic, oral, pastoral, plucky, poetic, poetico-mystical, poetico-mythological, poetico-philosophic, poetlike, prescriptive, princely, prodigious, profound, prominent, psalmic, psalmodial, psalmodic, renowned, rhapsodic, rooted, runic, sacred, sapphic, singing, skaldic, soaring, soldierlike, soldierly, soprano, stalwart, staunch, steadfast, stout, stouthearted, stupendous, sublime, superb, tenor, time-honored, titanic, towering, traditional, treble, tremendous, tried and true, true-blue, unafraid, undaunted, understood, unwritten, upstanding, valiant, valorous, vast, venerable, virile, virtuous, vocal, wonderful, worshipful