unheroic

adjective

ˌən-hi-ˈrō-ik How to pronounce unheroic (audio)
Definition of unheroicnext
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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 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 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
  1. cowardly
  2. afraid
  3. frightened
  4. craven
  5. pusillanimous
  6. scared
  7. gutless
  8. dastardly
Adjective
  • Denying students access to our complete history is fundamentally cowardly.
    — Britt Hogue, Baltimore Sun, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Two beloved members of the Tijuana journalism community were killed in two separate cowardly attacks.
    — Tania Navarro, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Mar. 2025
Definition of cowardly
Adjective
  • His untraditional views attracted the attention of health journalists eager to hear more about the quick-talking, engaging surgeon who wasn’t afraid of discussing such unprecedented strategies.
    — Alice Park, TIME, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Inside the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, vital support staff are gone, international partnerships have been strained, and workers are afraid to discuss threats to democracy that they’re now prohibited from countering.
    — Eric Geller, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • Inside, the staff scrambles for cover and a frightened woman and child are seen hiding behind a buffet counter.
    — Mark Price, Miami Herald, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Staying apolitical in his work, Lynch expressed the personal idiosyncrasy that reflected his upbringing in Midwest America (born in Missoula, Mont., and of Finnish-Danish heritage) as well as his private, frightened knowledge of national terror.
    — Armond White, National Review, 17 Jan. 2025
Definition of frightened
Adjective
  • In any event Marshall, a craven idiot, is a raucous, vulgar sendup of the bedrock American principle of Manifest Destiny.
    — Tom Gliatto, People.com, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Actors as skillful as Ruffalo and Toni Collette, the craven leader Marshall’s imperious wife, come off pretty pushy here.
    — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 6 Mar. 2025
Definition of craven
Adjective
  • There was no fanfare — indeed no announcement or change in Oscar rules — but a firestorm of controversy resulted, followed by the Academy’s cowardly, pusillanimous silence on the issue.
    — Armond White, National Review, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Mark Kelly Americans who are rightfully appalled by the pusillanimous response to anti-Semitism on college campuses have been pulling their donations and calling for restrictions on anti-Israel student groups.
    — Arthur Levitt, WSJ, 12 Nov. 2023
Definition of pusillanimous
Adjective
  • As the scream queen, there’s a role that Sam’s character can play, either angry at Paul, fighting back, or super scared.
    — Barry Levitt, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2025
  • TikTok is eating our lunch, and executives are scared.
    — Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • And the really jaw-dropping part of AMLO’s gutless abdication?
    — Tim Padgett, Sun Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2024
  • Two baseballs flew down toward the San Diego Padres’ Jurickson Profar from the left-field corner stands, the gutless moves of two cowards.
    — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Definition of gutless
Adjective
  • Even despite his loss to Cody Rhodes at Royal Rumble, Owens has been doing some of the best work of his career as a former babyface-turned-heel who feels justified in recent dastardly actions.
    — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
  • Brooks' Spaceballs is primarily a Star Wars parody with Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his alien sidekick, Barf (John Candy), rescuing Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) from the Spaceballs – all while evading capture from the dastardly Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis).
    — Grace Dean, Space.com, 11 Feb. 2025
Definition of dastardly

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Cite this Entry

“Unheroic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unheroic. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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