antihero means A protagonist who proceeds in an unheroic manner, such as by criminal means, via cowardly actions, or for mercenary goals.
antihero is pronounced /ˈæn.tɪˌhɪə.ɹəʊ/.
Why “antihero” is a great word
A protagonist in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, or morality. From the prefix anti- (meaning "against" or "opposite of") + hero, first recorded in English use 1705–15. Unlike a villain, who acts from malice and stands in opposition to the hero, or a hero, who embodies courage, nobility, and self-sacrifice, the antihero is the flawed center of gravity, the one we follow despite his failure to measure up. It is the private eye who keeps the bottle in his desk drawer, the outlaw who robs the bank to pay a child's medical bills, or the weary detective who solves the case through cynicism and a bruised conscience—a testament to the compelling magnetism of human frailty, where virtue is not always bright, and courage sometimes smells like regret and stale tobacco.
noun
- A protagonist who proceeds in an unheroic manner, such as by criminal means, via cowardly actions, or for mercenary goals.e.g.“Alienation: A stage on the downside of the passage wherein the holdfast and the antihero take actions which bring about a disintegration of personality.”
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