Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

heroism

/ˈhɛɹoʊɪzəm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.26 in modern English

Syllables: hero-ism
IPA: /ˈhɛɹoʊɪzəm/

12

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

4

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The qualities characteristic of a hero, such as courage, bravery, fortitude, selflessness, etc.; the display of such qualities.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"Certain strains of music affect me so strangely; I can never hear them without their changing my whole attitude of mind for a time, and if the effect would last, I might be capable of heroisms."
"He does all sorts of cool shit, and he subtly rediscovers his own heroism without making a big thing out of it. But he’s a supporting character, and he knows it."
"At the time, with the D-Day invasion of Europe going on, their heroism was hardly noticed. Plenty of other heroes were dying elsewhere. Plenty of bigger bits of history were being made."

Etymology

From French héroïsme, equivalent to hero + -ism.

Origin

Source language: French

Word Breakdown

Root: héroïsme

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈhɛɹoʊɪzəm/
British English: /ˈhɛɹəʊɪzəm/

Usage

Inflected Forms

heroisms (plural)

Derived Forms

unheroism

Frequently Paired Words

hero heroic heroics heroine heroship

Synonyms

heroship goodness gallantry valor valour valorousness valiance valiancy

Questions

How do you pronounce heroism?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɛɹoʊɪzəm/.
What does heroism mean?: The qualities characteristic of a hero, such as courage, bravery, fortitude, selflessness, etc.; the display of such qualities.
Where does heroism come from?: It is traced to French.

How to pronounce heroism

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “heroism”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɛɹoʊɪzəm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “heroism”.
Repeat and practice — Say “heroism” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.