heroes

noun

plural of hero
1
as in idols
a person who is the object of extreme or uncritical devotion fans of the sports hero didn't care what the facts were—in their minds, he was innocent of all criminal charges

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in submarines
a large sandwich on a long split roll shared a foot-long meatball hero with his friend

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 heroes There’s no better way to add a jolt of prestige to an aspiring Oscar vehicle than the sight of its stars, bedecked in all their finery, arriving on the Lido by water taxi in the manner of conquering heroes. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026 Stories based in this more complex reality of access are not always heroes’ journeys, marked with clear protagonists and moments of self-realization. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026 Alastair Stout will play Harry’s best friend Ronald Weasley, and Arabella Stanton will round out the classic trio of heroes as bookworm Hermione Granger, who matches the courage of the previous two Gryffindors. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2026 Viewers take it upon themselves to determine who the token heroes and villains of the season are, often fighting over just how well a contestant should be liked. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 31 Aug. 2026 The star recruited her heroes Sarah McLachlan, Alanis Morisette, and Stevie Nicks to the stage at Irvine, California’s Great Park on Saturday night. — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 30 Aug. 2026 Breen also emphasized that Heath, the film’s protagonist, is different from his other heroes, who tend to have superhuman abilities. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026 Contrary to their reputation, bats are not fearsome creatures but unsung ecological heroes. — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 28 Aug. 2026 This is in addition to Peacemaker and Lanterns, both starring male lead heroes. — Mark Hughes, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heroes
  1. idols
  2. submarines
  3. icons
  4. gods
  5. classics
Noun
  • He was also asked about being one of Hollywood’s last movie stars, and Clooney swiftly brought up two of his idols and good friends, Gregory Peck and Paul Newman.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026
  • In the old days, record companies sometimes packaged albums with little or no input from the artists themselves, and K-pop fans still argue over how much creative control their favorite idols really have.
    — Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of idols
Noun
  • That makes Portsmouth’s experience with North Dakota particularly relevant as additional Block III submarines move through the fleet’s maintenance cycle.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Russia is developing a heavy ICBM and a new warhead while planning upgrades to its submarines and bombers.
    — Jeffrey Lewis, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of submarines
Noun
  • Consumers have been exposed to a very large number of new icons, many of which are not necessarily differentiated enough from what came before.
    — Miles Socha, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • If a group chat has become a swamp of half-answers and reaction icons, step in with a quick summary.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of icons
Noun
  • Sci-fi blends with folklore as shamans stand in fields to anoint the new drone gods.
    — Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Hinduism comprises a wide variety of traditions and beliefs and generally accepts the coexistence of the many gods and the one god.
    — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of gods
Noun
  • Check the leading management bestsellers and textbooks, including Gary Hamel’s Humanocracy, Eric Ries’s Incorruptible, Stephen Robbins and Mary Coulter’s Management and older classics like Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy.
    — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The brainchild of Albert Kanter, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, these comic-book versions of the classics sold over 100 million copies and were distributed by 25,000 school districts.
    — Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of classics

Browse Nearby Words

hero
heroes
heroic
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heroes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heroes. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All