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

What is most thrilling about this book is reading the voice of the spirit in the heroine’s head. — Constance Grady, Vox, "The 16 best books I read in 2018," 21 Dec. 2018 One of my favorite scenes in the first Life is Strange came early on when heroine Max walked through a crowded hall at her school, headphones in, quietly monitoring the world around her. — Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge, "Life is Strange 2 puts politics at its forefront," 28 Sep. 2018 The Lone Star tick is thought to transmit a red-meat allergy through a Marvel heroine-sounding carbohydrate called alpha-gal, and can be diagnosed via blood test. — Katie Heaney, The Cut, "Apparently Tick Bites Can Make You Allergic to Red Meat," 25 June 2018 Murphy is not alone in the annals of TV heroines in terms of her show’s willingness to risk alienating (male) audiences in the name of pursuing her character’s truth, but there are very few other characters at her level. — Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "The rise, fall, and unlikely return of Murphy Brown, explained," 27 Sep. 2018 For female writers, in particular, Jo is the real heroine. — Charlotte Gordon, The Seattle Times, "The outsize influence of ‘Little Women’ endures, 150 years later," 24 Aug. 2018 Being a hot heroine in a coming-of-age story, Tess is inevitably the subject of romantic attention. — Robert Lloyd, latimes.com, "In ‘Sweetbitter,’ Starz serves up a saucy, if not spicy restaurant comedy," 4 May 2018 And Rashad’s Joan, glowing, ebullient, and with unlikely shades of heartwarming goofiness about her, is an easy heroine to champion. — Chloe Schama, Vogue, "In Saint Joan, Condola Rashad Stars as an Uneasy Heroine for Our Time," 26 Apr. 2018 Luna Lovegood, after all, is a heroine at the Hogwarts school of wizardry. — Gogo Lidz, Newsweek, "How Aquariums Can Actually Save Animals in the Wild," 21 Sep. 2015

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.