adj · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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hîrōĭn
Canada, General-American:/ˈhɪɹoʊɪn/
California:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
South-Asia:/hiro.ɪn/
hĕrōĭn
homophone: heroin
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈhɛɹəʊɪn/
Canada, General-American:/ˈhɛɹoʊɪn/
CMU ARPABET:HH EH1 R OW0 AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Characteristic of a heroine; heroic.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: heroinely, heroinic
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A female hero.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A female lead character.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
Obsolete spelling of heroin.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, obsolete, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
the main good female character in a work of fiction
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: character, role, theatrical role, part, persona
6
noun
Meaning 6
a woman possessing heroic qualities or a woman who has performed heroic deeds
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: woman, adult female
Narrower terms: Judith, McCauley, Mary McCauley, Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, Molly Pitcher
History
Etymology
Partly from the noun and partly from hero + -ine (suffix forming adjectives).
From Latin hērōīna, from late Ancient Greek ἡρωΐνη (hērōḯnē) (2nd century), a feminine equivalent of ἥρως (hḗrōs, “hero, demigod”), equivalent to hero + -ine (suffix forming feminine nouns). * English from 1587. The sense of "female lead character" is from 1715.
Across languages
Translations
85 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
trime
— female hero
Albanian:
trimëneshë
— female hero
Albanian:
kreshnike
— female hero
Arabic:
بَطَلَة
(baṭala)
— female hero
Armenian:
հերոսուհի
(herosuhi)
— female hero
Belarusian:
гераі́ня
(hjeraínja)
— female hero
Bengali:
বীরাঙ্গনা
(biraṅgona)
— female hero
Bulgarian:
герои́ня
(geroínja)
— female hero
Bulgarian:
юнаки́ня
(junakínja)
— female hero
Catalan:
heroïna
— female hero
Chinese Mandarin:
女英雄
(nǚyīngxióng)
— female hero
Chinese Mandarin:
女主角
(nǚzhǔjué)
— female hero
Chinese Mandarin:
英雌
(yīngcí)
— female hero
Chinese Mandarin:
女主人公
(nǚzhǔréngōng)
— female hero
