heroine

noun

her·o·ine | \ ˈher-ə-wən

, ˈhir-, ˈhe-rə-

Definition of heroine

1a : a mythological or legendary woman often of divine descent having great strength or ability

b : a woman admired and emulated for her achievements and qualities American heroines such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Rosa Parks remembered as the heroine of the flood

2a : the principal female character in a literary or dramatic work the heroine of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

b : the central female figure in an event or period

Examples of heroine in a Sentence

The town remembered her as the heroine of the flood and erected a statue in her honor.

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s followed by generic jungle adventures in which Lara contends with an unpleasant villain named Vogel ( Walton Goggins ) and makes a discovery that proves to be unmanageable—not by the heroine, but by the writers who pointed her toward it. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Tomb Raider’ Review: Buried by Absurdity," 15 Mar. 2018 In the case of Britney Spears — a true romantic and a modern heroine — the favorite book is a bonkbuster romance novel. — Philippa Snow, The Cut, "I Think About This a Lot: This Photo of Britney Spears Holding Candide," 15 Jan. 2018 Frozen definitely made some leaps and bounds as far as the quintessential Disney princess saga goes: The heroine didn't end up with a man who would henceforth define her happiness and complete her full journey to queen. — Lauren Le Vine, Redbook, "Former DreamWorks Artist Creates Rejected Disney Princesses," 20 June 2014 The heroine of the piece is a naked mole rat named Sweety, a conspicuous weirdo. — Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, "Children’s Books: The Adventure of Finding a Place in the World," 26 Apr. 2019 Or, at the very least, that their young heroes and heroines should be torn away from their moms, as seen in the trailer for Tim Burton’s live-action Dumbo, in theaters Friday. — Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, "Why Does Disney Hate Mothers So Much?," 28 Mar. 2019 With her novel, Rivera is positioning young Latinx characters in a role that has typically not been theirs in popular culture: the heroes and heroines of sci-fi fantasies. — Anne Branigin, Teen Vogue, "The Lit Bar Is the Bronx's New Bookstore Putting the Community First," 27 Mar. 2019 Our heroine is Cassandra Price, a brilliant mess of a human being eking out an existence at a megacorporation that her father’s work helped elevate into one of the most lucrative companies in the world. — Laura Hudson, The Verge, "Zoe Quinn’s Goddess Mode makes cyberpunk magic from the internet," 27 Dec. 2018 Priscilla Oliveras, who is published by Kensington, writes romances with Latinx heroes and heroines. — Alexandra Alter, New York Times, "The Changing Face of Romance Novels," 7 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heroine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.