heroically

adverb

Definition of heroicallynext
1
as in courageously
in a fearless manner struggled heroically to raise three children on her meager salary

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in honorably
in a manner befitting a person of the highest character and ideals doctors and nurses worked heroically through the night to keep the patient alive

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of heroically Exhibited for the first time outside of Sarajevo, the churning Socialist Realist homage invokes Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People in figuring partisans heroically overcoming their would-be Nazi aggressors. — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 10 July 2026 This turned a great explorer into a great survivor, as the voyage went down in legend for the extraordinary escape by those on board and a heroically safe return. — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 4 July 2026 Vermax was in dire trouble until Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) heroically steered her Moondancer and broke the rope attached to the anchor. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 22 June 2026 Watching a 34-year-old Mohamed Salah heroically try to drag 10 distinctly average teammates for 90-plus minutes is a thrilling exercise. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 11 June 2026 Your mother, heroically, became a warrior and a frontierswoman, an explorer, a pioneer. — Taiye Selasi, New Yorker, 31 May 2026 Patrick Gallagher, who earned the Navy Cross during the Vietnam War for heroically shielding his fellow Marines from a live grenade. — Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2026 All seems lost when a group of Stormtroopers ambushes the crew, but IG-11 heroically sacrifices himself to save them. — Chris Snellgrove, Entertainment Weekly, 21 May 2026 Our military has performed heroically. — Chris Boccia, ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heroically
  1. courageously
  2. honorably
  3. bravely
  4. manfully
  5. firmly
  6. valiantly
  7. boldly
Adverb
  • Roosevelt and Britain’s Winston Churchill shrewdly and courageously led the West in the epic battle against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan through World War II.
    — John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Police say the victim courageously fought for her life and escaped to the breezeway of the apartment, screaming for help as Reyes continued to assault her.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of courageously
Adverb
  • Bowen remained in the Marines until August 1946, when he was honorably discharged.
    — Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Park was flown back home, honorably discharged and awarded a Purple Heart.
    — Juliana Kim, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of honorably
Adverb
  • Skirting bravely around the edges of space to seek solace, they’re hunted by the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a deadly Alliance assassin on a mission who seeks to recapture her.
    — Grace Dean, Space.com, 1 Sep. 2026
  • After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.
    — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of bravely
Adverb
  • Benji’s father is a volatile patriarch who grills during blizzards and hits him for failing to manfully respond to a classmate’s racist slight.
    — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 22 June 2026
Definition of manfully
Adverb
  • Malkovich is considered by prognosticators to be firmly in the mix in what is a very competitive best actor category this awards season with Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Scott, Sebastian Stan and Javier Bardem among a deep field.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2026
  • However, her performance soon takes on a more grounded, childlike cadence, which roots the supposedly amnesiac Margot a little too firmly within the literal, especially for a tale whose poetry lies in its uncanniness.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of firmly
Adverb
  • Fighting valiantly but doomed by a lack of supplies, soldiers surrendered the fort on this day in 1864, bringing the Battle of Mobile Bay to its end.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Gunther was none-too-pleased with the Owens’ addition, leading to a feud with SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis, who came out of retirement last night and fought valiantly in defeat against the Ring General.
    — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of valiantly
Adverb
  • This plot and the film’s glossy aping of grindhouse aesthetics suggest the movie will be gnarly and boldly engrossing.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In the Dash film and across the Prada show, Cao boldly addresses a critical quandary (one that is underlined by her pairing of romantic and pastoral imagery with posters that once promoted Mao- and Reform-era agricultural mechanization initiatives).
    — Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of boldly

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heroic
heroically
heroicize
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Cite this Entry

“Heroically.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heroically. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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