agonist

[ag-uh-nist]

noun

1. a person engaged in a contest, conflict, struggle, etc., especially the protagonist in a literary work.

2. a person who is torn by inner conflict.

3. Physiology.,  a contracting muscle whose action is opposed by another muscle.

4. Pharmacology.,  a chemical substance capable of activating a receptor to induce a full or partial pharmacological response.

agonist

/ ˈæɡənɪst /

noun

1. any muscle that is opposed in action by another muscle Compare antagonist

2. a competitor, as in an agon

agonist

1. A muscle that actively contracts to produce a desired movement.

2. A chemical substance, especially a drug, that can combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiologic response.

3. Compare antagonist

Word History and Origins

Origin of agonist¹

First recorded in 1620–30; from Late Latin agōnista, from Greek agōnistḗs “contestant,” equivalent to agṓn agon + -istēs -ist

Word History and Origins

Origin of agonist¹

C17: from Greek agōn _agon

Example Sentences

A new class of drugs, orexin agonists, has generated transformational efficacy in keeping patients awake.

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Dopamine agonists can over-stimulate such feelings - helping sufferers of some movement disorders which may be caused by low levels of dopamine.

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Sarah was in her 50s when she was prescribed another dopamine agonist drug made by a different manufacturer.

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Coviello says that with such long and intricate biochemical pathways, there’s potential in new medications that incorporate more than one receptor agonist.

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As mentioned, some of these alkaloids work on the central nervous system’s opioid receptors, binding to them as partial agonists.

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