heroic

/hɪˈɹəʊ.ɪk/

//hɪˈɹəʊ.ɪk// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"heroic" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“heroic” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,053. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,053
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or relating to a hero or heroine; supremely noble.

Corpus desk

Index EN-heroic · heroic · English

heroic · rank #9,053 · 8 variants · 15 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,053
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 15 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH heel

Nearest frequency peer: heel (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “heroic”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “heroic” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

heroic vs heron
67% similar
heroic vs heroin
83% similar
heroic vs heroine
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for heroic
PropertyValue
Headwordheroic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/hɪˈɹəʊ.ɪk/
Letters6
Frequency rank#9,053
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “heroic”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).heroiclands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “heel” (#9,052), “hut” (#9,054), “hating” (#9,051). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “heroic” is #9,053. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around heroic (IPA /hɪˈɹəʊ.ɪk/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #9,053 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for heroic, with forms such as "ehroic", "heoric", and "herioc". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "heron", "heroin", "heroine", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Partly from Middle French heroïque and partly from Latin hērōicus. By surface analysis, hero + -ic. The correct English form is heroic, spelled H-E-R-O-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or relating to a hero or heroine; supremely noble.
  2. 2
    Courageous; displaying heroism.
  3. 3
    Of a size larger than life, but less than colossal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how heroic appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. heroic deeds
  2. To stand upon the ramparts and die for our principles is heroic. To sally forth to battle and win for our principles is something more than heroic.

Etymology

Partly from Middle French heroïque and partly from Latin hērōicus. By surface analysis, hero + -ic.

Synonyms

herolike

Antonyms

cowardly

This word in other languages

heroico(Español)héroïque(Français)heldenhaft(Deutsch)heróico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ehroic
  • heoric
  • herioc
  • heroci
  • heroicc
  • herroic
  • hheroic
  • hreoic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of heroic - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ehroic2heoric2herioc2heroci2heroicc1herroic1hheroic1hreoic2
Edit distance from "heroic"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "heroic"?
"heroic" is spelled H-E-R-O-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /hɪˈɹəʊ.ɪk/.
What does "heroic" mean?
As an adjective, "heroic" means: Of or relating to a hero or heroine; supremely noble.
What words are commonly confused with "heroic"?
"heroic" is commonly confused with "heron", "heroin", "heroine". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "heroic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "heroic" is /hɪˈɹəʊ.ɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "heroic"?
Partly from Middle French heroïque and partly from Latin hērōicus. By surface analysis, hero + -ic. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "heroic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hating#9,051knives#9,060marina#9,064Milton#9,067

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Johns8 variantsmelissa8 variantsWalsh8 variantssperm8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list