heroic

heroic
    adj 1: very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary
           (especially in size or scale); "an epic voyage"; "of
           heroic proportions"; "heroic sculpture" [syn: {epic},
           {heroic}, {larger-than-life}]
    2: relating to or characteristic of heroes of antiquity; "heroic
       legends"; "the heroic age"
    3: having or displaying qualities appropriate for heroes; "the
       heroic attack on the beaches of Normandy"; "heroic explorers"
       [syn: {heroic}, {heroical}]
    4: of behavior that is impressive and ambitious in scale or
       scope; "an expansive lifestyle"; "in the grand manner";
       "collecting on a grand scale"; "heroic undertakings" [syn:
       {expansive}, {grand}, {heroic}]
    5: showing extreme courage; especially of actions courageously
       undertaken in desperation as a last resort; "made a last
       desperate attempt to reach the climber"; "the desperate
       gallantry of our naval task forces marked the turning point
       in the Pacific war"- G.C.Marshall; "they took heroic measures
       to save his life" [syn: {desperate}, {heroic}]
    n 1: a verse form suited to the treatment of heroic or elevated
         themes; dactylic hexameter or iambic pentameter [syn:
         {heroic verse}, {heroic meter}, {heroic}]
    

Heroic \He*ro"ic\, a. [F. h['e]ro["i]que, L. hero["i]cus, Gr.
   "hrwi:ko`s.]
   1. Of or pertaining to, or like, a hero; of the nature of
      heroes; distinguished by the existence of heroes; as, the
      heroic age; an heroic people; heroic valor.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Worthy of a hero; bold; daring; brave; illustrious; as,
      heroic action; heroic enterprises.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Sculpture & Painting) Larger than life size, but smaller
      than colossal; -- said of the representation of a human
      figure.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Heroic Age}, the age when the heroes, or those called the
      children of the gods, are supposed to have lived.

   {Heroic poetry}, that which celebrates the deeds of a hero;
      epic poetry.

   {Heroic treatment} or {Heroic remedies} (Med.), treatment or
      remedies of a severe character, suited to a desperate
      case.

   {Heroic verse} (Pros.), the verse of heroic or epic poetry,
      being in English, German, and Italian the iambic of ten
      syllables; in French the iambic of twelve syllables; and
      in classic poetry the hexameter.

   Syn: Brave; intrepid; courageous; daring; valiant; bold;
        gallant; fearless; enterprising; noble; magnanimous;
        illustrious.
        [1913 Webster]
    

195 Moby Thesaurus words for "heroic":
      Alcaic, Anacreontic, Atlantean, Brobdingnagian, Castalian,
      Cyclopean, Gargantuan, Herculean, Homeric, Hudibrastic, Pierian,
      Pindaric, Theocritean, abysmal, acknowledged, admitted, alto,
      altruistic, astronomic, audacious, august, bardic, baritone, bass,
      big, bighearted, bold, bold-spirited, brave, bravura, bucolic,
      chivalric, chivalrous, choral, choric, classical, coloratura,
      colossal, conventional, courageous, customary, cyclopean, daring,
      dauntless, desperate, determined, didactic, distinguished,
      dithyrambic, doughty, dramatic, drastic, eclogic, elegiac,
      elephantine, elevated, eminent, enormous, epic, established,
      exaggerated, exalted, extravagant, extreme, fabulous, falsetto,
      famous, fearless, fixed, folk, gallant, generous, giant, giantlike,
      gigantic, glorious, godlike, grand, grandiose, great,
      great of heart, greathearted, hallowed, handed down, handsome,
      hardy, herolike, high, high-minded, hoary, honorable, huge, hymnal,
      idealistic, idyllic, immemorial, immense, infinite, intrepid,
      inveterate, ironhearted, jumbo, knightlike, knightly, largehearted,
      lauded, legendary, liberal, lionhearted, liturgical, lofty,
      long-established, long-standing, lyric, magnanimous, magnificent,
      magniloquent, majestic, mammoth, manful, manly, mighty, miraculous,
      mock-heroic, monster, monstrous, monumental, mountainous,
      mythological, narrative, noble, noble-minded, of long standing,
      of the folk, openhanded, operatic, oral, pastoral, plucky, poetic,
      poetico-mystical, poetico-mythological, poetico-philosophic,
      poetlike, prescriptive, princely, prodigious, profound, prominent,
      psalmic, psalmodial, psalmodic, renowned, rhapsodic, rooted, runic,
      sacred, sapphic, singing, skaldic, soaring, soldierlike, soldierly,
      soprano, stalwart, staunch, steadfast, stout, stouthearted,
      stupendous, sublime, superb, tenor, time-honored, titanic,
      towering, traditional, treble, tremendous, tried and true,
      true-blue, unafraid, undaunted, understood, unwritten, upstanding,
      valiant, valorous, vast, venerable, virile, virtuous, vocal,
      wonderful, worshipful