heroine

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heroine

courageous woman; principle female character: The heroine of the play was a great actress.

Not to be confused with:

heroin – highly addictive narcotic derived from morphine: He had a hard time kicking heroin.

her·o·ine

(hĕr′ō-ĭn)

1. A woman noted for courage and daring action.

2. A woman noted for special achievement in a particular field.

3. The principal female character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.

[Latin hērōīnē, hērōīna, from Greek hērōīnē, feminine of hērōs, hero; see hero.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

heroine

(ˈhɛrəʊɪn)

1. a woman possessing heroic qualities

2. a woman idealized for possessing superior qualities

3. the main female character in a novel, play, film, etc

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

her•o•ine

(ˈhɛr oʊ ɪn)

n.

1. a woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities.

2. the principal female character in a story, play, film, etc.

[1650–60; < Latin hērōīnē < Greek hērōinē, feminine of hḗrōs hero; see -ine⁴]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	heroine - the main good female character in a work of fiction persona, theatrical role, role, character, part - an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; "she played the part of Desdemona"
	2.	heroine - a woman possessing heroic qualities or a woman who has performed heroic deeds adult female, woman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted"

heroine

noun

1. protagonist, leading lady, diva, prima donna, female lead, lead actress, principal female character The heroine is a senior TV executive.

2. star, celebrity, goddess, celeb (informal), megastar (informal), woman of the hour The heroine of the day was the winner of the Gold medal.

3. idol, favourite, pin-up (slang), fave (informal) I still remember my childhood heroines.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

بَطَلَة

hrdinka

heltinde

Heldin Heroin Heroine

ηρωίδα

heroína

sankaritar

héroïne heroïne

heroina

hősnő

eroina

ヒロイン

여자 영웅

hrdinka

junakjunakinja

hjältinna

วีรสตรี

kadın kahraman

nữ anh hùng

女英雄

heroine

[ˈherəʊɪn] N → heroína f; [of film, book] → protagonista f, personaje m principal

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

heroine

[ˈhɛrəʊɪn] n → héroïne f (femme)
the heroine of the novel → l'héroïne du roman
she was my heroine → c'était mon héroïneheroin user n → héroïnomane mf

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

heroine

n → Heldin f; (esp Theat also) → Heroine f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

heroine

[ˈhɛrəʊɪn] n → eroina

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

hero

(ˈhiərəu) – plural ˈheroes: feminine heroine (ˈherouin) – noun

1. a man or boy admired (by many people) for his brave deeds. The boy was regarded as a hero for saving his friend's life.

2. the chief male person in a story, play etc. The hero of this book is a young American boy called Tom Sawyer.

heroic (hiˈrəuik) adjective

1. very brave. heroic deeds.

2. of heroes. heroic tales.

heˈroically adverb

heroism (ˈherəuizm) noun

great bravery. The policeman was given a medal in recognition of his heroism.

ˈhero-worship noun

very great, sometimes too great, admiration for a person.

verb

to show such admiration for (someone). The boy hero-worshipped the footballer.

the heroine (not heroin) of the story.

heroine

→ بَطَلَة hrdinka heltinde Heldin ηρωίδα heroína sankaritar héroïne heroina eroina ヒロイン 여자 영웅 heldin heltinne bohaterka heroína героиня hjältinna วีรสตรี kadın kahraman nữ anh hùng 女英雄

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References in classic literature ?

Surely it will be allowed that none could be more proper than the present, where we are about to introduce a considerable character on the scene; no less, indeed, than the heroine of this heroic, historical, prosaic poem.

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I'm afraid I should never do as a novelist, for I should waste all my time with the heroine; whereas the true novelist is expected to pay as much attention to the heroine's parents as though he were a suitor for her hand.

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No one who had ever seen Catherine Morland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine. Her situation in life, the character of her father and mother, her own person and disposition, were all equally against her.

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As soon as the question was determined in favour of going, Miss Emmerson and Katherine withdrew, leaving Charles alone with the heroine of our tale.

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Evenings during the week he took her to see plays in which the brain-clutching heroine was rescued from the palatial home of her guardian, who is cruelly after her bonds, by the hero with the beautiful sentiments.

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"Theogony" 963 ff.) with some such passage as this: `But now, ye Muses, sing of the tribes of women with whom the Sons of Heaven were joined in love, women pre-eminent above their fellows in beauty, such as was Niobe (?).' Each succeeding heroine was then introduced by the formula `Or such as was...' (cp.

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"Averil is such an unmanageable heroine. She WILL do and say things I never meant her to.

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His first heroine, Pamela, is a plebeian serving-maid, and his second, Clarissa, a fine-spirited young lady of the wealthy class, but both are perfectly and completely true and living, throughout all their terribly complex and trying experiences.

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Mat treated the objection with great contempt, and averred in reply, that he made the slaves black in order to obtain a striking effect of contrast, and that, could he have derived a similar advantage from making his heroine blue, blue she should have been.

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I was in love with the heroine, the lovely dancer whose 'cachucha' turned my head, along with that of the cardinal, but whose name even I have forgotten, and I went about with the thought of her burning in my heart, as if she had been a real person.

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As the first part of "An Old-Fashioned Girl" was written in 1869, the demand for a sequel, in beseeching little letters that made refusal impossible, rendered it necessary to carry my heroine boldly forward some six or seven years into the future.

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It has been often said, and in published statements, that the heroine of this book was drawn after the sister of the writer, who was killed by a fall from a horse now near half a century since.