as in cowardly
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
the new biography casts the romanticized outlaw in a much more vicious and unheroic light
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Recent Examples of unheroic
That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.
—
Gabriel Winslow-Yost, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
In the world of The Boys, based on the gleefully scabrous 2000s indie comic-book series of the same name by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, superheroes are real, pop-culture-dominating, and with rare exceptions, entirely unheroic.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 13 June 2024
From the costumes to the makeup, from visual effects to sound design, the goal was to be as realistic as possible and underscore the movie’s anti-war and deliberately unheroic depiction of an ordinary soldier in battle.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2023
John’s figures are wood stained in unheroic reality.
—Bob Guccione Jr, SPIN, 17 Feb. 2023
But rational reasoning is no way to reach Josephine, as the adults around her discover one by one — beginning with Spencer, played with commendably unheroic tetchiness by Harington, as his sensitive support gradually sours into parental oneupmanship.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 2 Feb. 2023
Its stars still burn brightly—perhaps especially so in our own gruesomely unheroic times—with Ernest Shackleton considered by many to be the brightest star of them all.
—Sara Wheeler, WSJ, 11 Jan. 2022
And if the moderate theory appears cautious and unheroic, well, it's got nothing on the unheroic inactivity of most Republicans hoping to defang Trumpism, who have convinced themselves that the way to avoid a worse replay of the 2020 endgame is not to fight him openly at all.
—Ross Douthat New York Times, Star Tribune, 7 June 2021
Gabriel Winslow-Yost, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
In the world of The Boys, based on the gleefully scabrous 2000s indie comic-book series of the same name by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, superheroes are real, pop-culture-dominating, and with rare exceptions, entirely unheroic.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 13 June 2024
From the costumes to the makeup, from visual effects to sound design, the goal was to be as realistic as possible and underscore the movie’s anti-war and deliberately unheroic depiction of an ordinary soldier in battle.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2023
John’s figures are wood stained in unheroic reality.
—Bob Guccione Jr, SPIN, 17 Feb. 2023
But rational reasoning is no way to reach Josephine, as the adults around her discover one by one — beginning with Spencer, played with commendably unheroic tetchiness by Harington, as his sensitive support gradually sours into parental oneupmanship.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 2 Feb. 2023
Its stars still burn brightly—perhaps especially so in our own gruesomely unheroic times—with Ernest Shackleton considered by many to be the brightest star of them all.
—Sara Wheeler, WSJ, 11 Jan. 2022
And if the moderate theory appears cautious and unheroic, well, it's got nothing on the unheroic inactivity of most Republicans hoping to defang Trumpism, who have convinced themselves that the way to avoid a worse replay of the 2020 endgame is not to fight him openly at all.
—Ross Douthat New York Times, Star Tribune, 7 June 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unheroic
Adjective
-
The mayor denounced the attack as a cowardly act of aggression against the city's Jewish community.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Mar. 2026
-
On the flat arid plains below lives the farming community of the Bezaris, who are generally seen by the Hazerans as a group of privileged, cowardly usurers.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Designed to encourage everyone to let their creativity run wild and to not be afraid to stand out from the crowd.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
God complex Having legions of loyal followers who regard you as Muad'Dib, the Fremen chosen one, can clearly go to your head, and Paul isn't afraid to put on a show for the masses.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Try Visual Deterrents Birds are easily frightened, so adding colorful flags that wave in the wind may keep them from landing on your lawn and dining on your grass seed.—
Michelle Mastro,
The Spruce,
13 Mar. 2026
-
And a new study, published in the journal Emotion, suggests that a robot that mimics human breathing can also pass on frightened feelings.—
Simon Makin,
Scientific American,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
To watch Industry wrestle with the extreme consequences of its characters’ greedy and craven choices is to watch a series blossom with new ambition.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
2 Mar. 2026
-
But to defend books coverage in these craven terms is already to concede too much.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
-
The second believed the United States could attain comprehensive security through military-technological means and saw diplomacy as a quixotic or pusillanimous enterprise that dishonored and weakened the country.—
A. Wess Mitchell,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
From Special Forces to life in Richardson In Richardson, where Paktiawal settled, his family has questions, and the community is scared.—
Bo Evans,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
A lot of directors would have been scared or nervous to shoot that.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And all the while, our gutless politicians watch from the sidelines so as to not interfere and risk angering their party.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Trump and the gutless GOP Congress may be leading America into World War III.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Leonardo DiCaprio is back in Oscar-ready form as a stoner former revolutionary who is left by his spirited love (Teyana Taylor) and struggles to save his daughter (fabulous newcomer Chase Infiniti) from a dastardly nemesis (Sean Penn).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
8 Mar. 2026
-
There is a lot going on in these episodes, between Lady Danbury and the queen, Francesca and John and Michaela, and, of course, our main couple and that dastardly offer!—
Christina Grace Tucker,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unheroic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unheroic. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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