noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , great
▪
He was one of the great football ~es of his day.
▪ genuine , real , true
▪ all-time
▪
Einstein is the all-time ~ of many scientists.
▪ unsung
▪
She was an unsung ~ of the British film industry.
▪ forgotten
▪ reluctant , unlikely
▪ brave , intrepid
▪
The song remembers the brave ~es who died for their country.
▪ romantic , tragic
▪
Being short and overweight, he was an unlikely romantic ~.
▪ action , swashbuckling
▪
Tired of playing the swashbuckling ~, he sought out more challenging roles.
▪ conquering
▪
He returned home from the tournament a conquering ~.
▪ all-American ( BrE )
▪ have-a-go (= sb who is not in the police, etc. who tries to prevent a crime) ( BrE )
▪
A have-a-go ~ who attempted to stop thieves stealing a car was killed after the robbers ran him over.
▪ fallen
▪
a fallen ~ trying to regain his position
▪ cult
▪
James Dean was a cult ~ of the fifties.
▪ folk , hometown ( BrE ), local , national , popular
▪ fictional , legendary , mythical
▪ real-life
▪ eponymous , titular
▪
Don Quixote, the eponymous ~ of the novel by Cervantes
▪ boyhood , childhood
▪
Bugs Bunny was one of my childhood ~es.
▪ working-class
▪ war
▪ military , naval
▪ decorated
▪ film ( esp. BrE ), movie ( esp. AmE )
▪ comic , football , guitar , musical , sporting ( BrE ), sports ( AmE )
▪
Jimi Hendrix was her guitar ~.
▪
In this album she pays tribute to her musical ~es.
▪ Olympic
▪ cultural
VERB + HERO
▪ be hailed (as)
▪
He was hailed as a ~ after the rescue.
▪ become , make sb into , turn sb into
▪
The fight to save the forest turned him into a local ~.
▪ die
▪
He died a national ~.
▪ celebrate , commemorate , honour/honor , salute
▪ cheer
▪ emulate
▪ play , portray
▪
Tom Cruise played the ~.
▪ meet
▪
a chance to meet his ~
HERO + VERB
▪ battle , fight
▪ rescue sb , save sb/sth
▪ inspire sb
HERO + NOUN
▪ status
▪
O'Reilly enjoyed ~ status based on his ability with a ball.
▪ figure
▪
His father was a ~ figure to him.
▪ worship
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ to
▪
He was a ~ to all his friends.
PHRASES
▪ be no ~
▪
John was no hero—he was willing to let others fight.
▪ give sb a hero's welcome , receive a hero's welcome
▪ ~ of the hour
▪
Everyone played brilliantly, but Jones was the ~ of the hour.
▪ (die) a hero's death