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
Recent Examples on the Web
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
Before long, the internet had turned the applicant into something of a folk hero.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 11 Nov. 2025
Despite, or perhaps because of, the charge, Dunn has become a folk hero of sorts, with tokens of appreciation appearing such as art depicting the sandwich throw, protest signs with sandwich imagery and merchandise from T-shirts to stickers on the online marketplace Etsy.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 7 Nov. 2025
In the case of the health care executive, the suspect charged with the killing has been celebrated as a kind of folk hero to some on the left.
—NPR, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for folk hero
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Lorena O'Neil, Rolling Stone, 24 Nov. 2025
Before long, the internet had turned the applicant into something of a folk hero.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 11 Nov. 2025
Despite, or perhaps because of, the charge, Dunn has become a folk hero of sorts, with tokens of appreciation appearing such as art depicting the sandwich throw, protest signs with sandwich imagery and merchandise from T-shirts to stickers on the online marketplace Etsy.
—Jared Gans, The Hill, 7 Nov. 2025
In the case of the health care executive, the suspect charged with the killing has been celebrated as a kind of folk hero to some on the left.
—NPR, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for folk hero
Cite this Entry
“Folk hero.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folk%20hero. Accessed 3 Dec. 2025.
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