antagonist

From Latin antagonista, from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs, “opponent”) (ἀντί (antí, “against”) + ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”)), from ἀνταγωνίζεσθαι (antagōnízesthai, “antagonize”).

• IPA^(key): /ænˈtæɡənɪst/

• Audio (US)

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antagonist (plural antagonists)

1. An opponent or enemy.
   • 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     our antagonists in these controversies

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Antagonist of Heav’ns Almightie King

   • 1843, Edward Bulwer[-]Lytton, “A King in His City Hopes to Recover His Realm—A Woman in Her Chamber Fears to Forfeit Her Own”, in The Last of the Barons, London; New York, N.Y.: George Routledge and Sons […], →OCLC, book XII (The Battle of Barnet), page 433, column 2:

     [H]is eyes vacant—his face haggard—his head drooping, the spectacle of such an antagonist to the vigorous Edward, moved only pity in the few, and ridicule in the many.

2. One who antagonizes or stirs.
3. (biochemistry) A chemical that binds to a receptor but does not produce a physiological response, blocking the action of agonist chemicals.
   • 2001: The calcium antagonists represent one of the top ten classes of prescription drugs in terms of commercial value, with worldwide sales of nearly $10 billion in 1999. — Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2001, p. 41)
4. (authorship) The main character or force opposing the protagonist in a literary work or drama.
   • 2022, Will Wood (musician) (lyrics and music), “The Main Character”, in In case I make it,, performed by Will Wood:

     So God forbid I'm seen just as an average human being / I mean, imagine if antagonists lacked any evil scheme

5. (anatomy) A muscle that acts in opposition to another.

   A flexor, which bends a part, is the antagonist of an extensor, which extends it.

• protagonist
• agonist (biochemistry)

• stagnation

antagonist c (singular definite antagonisten, plural indefinite antagonister)

1. (literature) antagonist

• skurk

• “antagonist” in Den Danske Ordbog

Borrowed from French antagoniste, from Latin antagonista.

antagonist m or n (feminine singular antagonistă, masculine plural antagoniști, feminine and neuter plural antagoniste)

1. antagonistic

   Synonym: antagonic

antagonist m (plural antagoniști)

1. antagonist

antagonist c

1. an antagonist (opponent or enemy)
2. (authorship) an antagonist

   Antonym: protagonist

3. (biochemistry) an antagonist
4. (anatomy) an antagonist

• antagonism

• motståndare
• protagonist

• antagonist in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• antagonist in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• antagonist in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

From French antagoniste.

antagonist (definite accusative antagonisti, plural antagonistler)

1. antagonist

   Synonyms: düşman, hasım, yağı