folk hero

noun

: a person who is greatly admired by many people of a particular kind or in a particular place
He has become a folk hero in his home state because of the work he has done to help poor children.

Examples of folk hero in a Sentence

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At 97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, the pic stars Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, Coleman Domingo and Al Pacino in a story inspired by the 1977 hostage standoff that turned aspiring entrepreneur Tony Kiritsis into an eccentric outlaw folk hero. Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 6 Jan. 2026 Machado became a folk hero of the Venezuelan opposition between late 2023 and 2024. Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026 Hannah remembers a mural in one of the dining halls that included a rendering of him — an exciting but peculiar feeling, to be reminded of her brother’s folk hero status every meal. Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 25 Dec. 2025 With a face that has launched a million memes, he’s been depicted as a folk hero, a symbol of anti-capitalism, a leftist villain, a rallying cry used by disparate groups to emphasize those causes — regardless of whether or not Mangione believes in any of their causes. Lorena O'Neil, Rolling Stone, 24 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for folk hero

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“Folk hero.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folk%20hero. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.

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