hero

hero is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 2 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.A man of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event; hence, a great or illustrious person. Each man is a hero and oracle to somebody. Emerson.
  2. 2.The principal personage in a poem, story, and the like, or the person who has the principal share in the transactions related; as Achilles in the Iliad, Ulysses in the Odyssey, and Æneas in the Æneid. The shining quality of an epic hero. Dryden. Hero worship, extravagant admiration for great men, likened to the ancient worship of heroes. Hero worship exists, has existed, and will forever exist, universally among mankind. Carlyle.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Synonyms

Related questions

Sources

  • Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
  • Synonyms & antonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
  • Canonical URL: https://worddirectanswers.com/word/hero
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