antagonist

See also: Antagonist

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ænˈtæɡənɪst/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

antagonist (plural antagonists)

1. An opponent or enemy.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book 9”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     Antagonist of Heav’ns Almightie King

   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie

     our antagonists in these controversies

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.
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.

Antonyms

• protagonist
• agonist (biochemistry)

Related terms

• agonistes
• antagonise, antagonize

• antagonism
• receptor antagonist

Translations

opponent

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bengali: প্রতিপক্ষ (prôtipôkkh)
• Catalan: antagonista m or f
• Esperanto: kontraŭulo, kontraŭbatalanto, antagonisto
• Finnish: vastustaja (fi)
• French: antagoniste m or f
• Georgian: ანტაგონისტი (anṭagonisṭi), მეტოქე (meṭoke), მოწინააღმდეგე (moc̣inaaɣmdege)
• German: Antagonist (de) m
• Greek: ανταγωνιστής (el) m (antagonistís)

  Ancient: ἀντίπαλος m (antípalos)

• Hungarian: ellenfél (hu)
• Icelandic: andstæðingur m, mótstöðumaður m

• Indonesian: antagonis (id)
• Interlingue: antagonist
• Italian: antagonista (it) m or f
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: hevdij (ku)

• Malay: antagonis, penentang
• Persian: هماورد‎ (fa) (hamāvard), رقیب‎ (fa) (raghib), حریف‎ (fa) (harif)
• Plautdietsch: Jäajna m
• Portuguese: antagonista (pt) m or f
• Romanian: antagonist (ro) m, oponent (ro) m
• Russian: антагони́ст (ru) m (antagoníst)
• Slovak: antagonista m
• Spanish: antagonista (es) m or f
• Swedish: motståndare (sv)

one who antagonizes

• Finnish: vihastuttaja, vihanlietsoja, riidankylväjä
• Greek: ανταγωνιστής (el) m (antagonistís)
• Indonesian: antagonis (id), penentang (id)
• Interlingue: antagonist
• Italian: oppositore (it) m, avversario (it) m, concorrente (it) m
• Malay: antagonis, penentang

• Persian: دشمن‎ (fa) (došman), مخالف‎ (fa) (moxālef)
• Portuguese: antagonista (pt) m or f
• Russian: антагони́ст (ru) m (antagoníst)
• Spanish: antagonista (es) m or f

chemical

• Catalan: antagonista m
• Finnish: antagonisti (fi)
• German: Antagonist (de) m
• Greek: ανταγωνιστής (el) m (antagonistís)

• Hungarian: blokkoló (hu)
• Italian: antagonista (it) m or f
• Norwegian: Kjemisk
• Portuguese: antagonista (pt) m

main character or force opposing the protagonist

• Finnish: pääpahis (informal)
• French: antagoniste (fr) m or f

Anagrams

• stagnation

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Danish

Noun

antagonist c (singular definite antagonisten, plural indefinite antagonister)

1. (literature) antagonist

Declension

Declension of antagonist

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	antagonist	antagonisten	antagonister	antagonisterne
genitive	antagonists	antagonistens	antagonisters	antagonisternes

Synonyms

• skurk

Further reading

• “antagonist” in Den Danske Ordbog