Heroin vs heroine
Heroin, with no e at the end, is a strong illegal drug. Heroine, with an e, is a brave woman or the main female character in a story.
Heroine ends in e, just like she.
heroin noun
A powerful, addictive drug made from opium. It is illegal in most of the world.
- The clinic offers treatment to people addicted to heroin and other opioids.
- Police found a large amount of heroin hidden in the truck.
heroine noun
A woman or girl admired for her courage or great achievements, or the main female character in a story.
- The firefighter who carried three neighbors out of the burning building was hailed as a heroine.
- The novel's heroine spends most of the story trying to escape an unhappy marriage.
Watch out
- Long ago, heroin was also used as a spelling of heroine. That use is obsolete. Today, always spell the brave woman heroine.
Test yourself
In the last chapter, the blank finally finds her missing sister.
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heroine. This is the main female character in a story.
He spent years fighting an addiction to blank.
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heroin. People become addicted to a drug, which is heroin.
The nurse who saved the trapped children became a local blank.
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heroine. She is a woman admired for her courage.
Customs officers seized two kilograms of blank at the airport.
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heroin. Officers seize illegal drugs, and heroin is a drug.