antagonist
Americannoun
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a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary.
- Synonyms:
- foe, enemy, contestant
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the adversary of the hero or protagonist of a drama or other literary work.
Iago is the antagonist of Othello.
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Physiology. a muscle that acts in opposition to another.
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Dentistry. a tooth in one jaw that articulates during mastication or occlusion with a tooth in the opposing jaw.
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Pharmacology. a drug that counteracts the effects of another drug.
noun
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A muscle that opposes the action of another muscle, as by relaxing while the other one contracts, thereby producing smooth, coordinated movement.
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A chemical substance, such as a drug, that interferes with the physiological action of another substance, especially by combining with and blocking its nerve receptor.
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Compare agonist
Synonym Usage
See adversary.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of antagonist
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Late Latin antagōnista, from Greek antagōnistḗs. See antagonize, -ist
Explanation
An antagonist is someone who opposes someone else. In Superman comics, the antagonist is Lex Luthor, evil genius and archenemy of the superhero. The noun antagonist shows up a lot when people are talking about books, plays, or movies to mean "the bad guy," but it can also be used to talk about a real person if she acts against someone else. An antagonist is always in opposition, but she isn't always bad or mean; your opponent on the tennis court, for example, could be called your antagonist, simply because it is her priority to beat you in your tennis game.
Vocabulary lists containing antagonist
Scrooge, Grinch, and Churl: Wonderful Words for Unpleasant People
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Vocabulary about elements of Shakespearean drama
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Narrative Writing, List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
An avid fan of Thai literature, he named it Thotsakan, the primary antagonist in the national epic, Ramakien.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
There’s no reason Lily couldn’t be a straight-up antagonist, and the film’s story could work just as easily written that way.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
Having gone toe-to-toe in 2020 with Root in “Perry Mason’s” first season, Rhys was thrilled Root was cast as Tom’s primary antagonist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Finerenone is a non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist currently approved to treat CKD associated with type 2 diabetes.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026
One of the leading researchers in the field, who helped write the 2009 Amherst paper, is Daniel Anderson, a professor at UMass Amherst, and he’s anything but a purebred television antagonist.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
These include SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP-1-based therapies, and nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists in people with chronic kidney disease without diabetes.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2026
Instead he uses the war as a pretext for urging modern Britain to “accelerate munitions production” in preparation for a “European War” whose antagonists remain largely unspecified.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026
Neurocrine is betting that its experience working on CRF1 receptor antagonists could yield a better muscle-preserving treatment for obesity.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 6, 2026
Jordan also collaborated with Coogler in 2018 with Black Panther where he played Erik Killmonger, one of the most memorable antagonists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
Trails can be laid and followed, antagonists frightened and confused, friends attracted and enchanted.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
