protagonist

[ proh-tag-uh-nist ]
See synonyms for: protagonistprotagonists on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work.

  2. a proponent for or advocate of a political cause, social program, etc.

  1. the leader or principal person in a movement, cause, etc.

  2. the first actor in ancient Greek drama, who played not only the main role, but also other roles when the main character was offstage.: Compare deuteragonist, tritagonist.

  3. Physiology. agonist.

Origin of protagonist

1
First recorded in 1665–75; from Greek prōtagōnistḗs “actor who plays the first part,” literally, “first combatant,” equivalent to prôt(os) “first” + agōnistḗs “one who contends for a prize, combatant, actor”; see origin at proto-, antagonist

Other words from protagonist

  • pro·tag·o·nism, noun

Words that may be confused with protagonist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use protagonist in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for protagonist

protagonist

/ (prəʊˈtæɡənɪst) /


noun
  1. the principal character in a play, story, etc

  2. a supporter, esp when important or respected, of a cause, political party, etc

Origin of protagonist

1
C17: from Greek prōtagōnistēs, from prōtos first + agōnistēs actor

Derived forms of protagonist

  • protagonism, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for protagonist

protagonist

[ (proh-tag-uh-nist) ]


The principal character in a literary work. Hamlet, for example, is the protagonist of the play by William Shakespeare that bears his name.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.