Synonyms

antagonize

American

[an-tag-uh-nahyz] / ænˈtæg əˌnaɪz /

especially British, antagonise

verb (used with object)

to make hostile or unfriendly; make an enemy or antagonist of.

His speech antagonized many voters.
to act in opposition to; oppose.

verb (used without object)

Rare. to act antagonistically.

antagonize British

/ ænˈtæɡəˌnaɪz /

verb

to make hostile; annoy or irritate
to act in opposition to or counteract

"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

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Etymology

Origin of antagonize

First recorded in 1625–35, antagonize is from the Greek word antagōnízesthai to contend against, dispute with. See ant-, agonize

Explanation

To antagonize is to provoke someone to react angrily. If your mother tells you to stop antagonizing your brother, she's asking you to stop making him mad. Antagonize shares the same Greek roots with the word agony, so think about how much agony you cause your siblings when you tease and goad them into getting angry. Bugs Bunny is known to antagonize Elmer Fudd, who hunts but never does catch that wabbit. Actually Bugs antagonizes every cartoon character he comes into contact with! In English class, you'll often be asked to name the antagonist of a story or novel, the character who provokes the main character to act.

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Vocabulary lists containing antagonize

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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:

antagonize antagonizes antagonized antagonizing

The former official asked not to be named because they work in public health and don’t want to antagonize the current administration.

From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026

Why would he show up and antagonize the justices?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026

The crowd at Pupusas and Punchlines is not one to dismiss or antagonize comics that are not Latinx.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025

Which prompts the question: Why would companies that in theory couldn’t afford to antagonize their customers take this tack anyway?

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2025

His tactic had been not to file any motions so as not to antagonize the jury.

From "The Stranger" by Albert Camus

Instead the city is pursuing a policy that further antagonizes landlords and sends tenants the message that they might be able to get away with not paying rent if they fight hard enough.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024

However, naltrexone, in both short- and long-acting forms, has the opposite pharmacology: it antagonizes mu receptors, occupying them without activating them.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 13, 2023

It all makes for a slight but satisfying Gru origin story, as the budding baddie tries to impress the Vicious 6 and antagonizes Arkin’s vengeful Wild Knuckles along the way.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 28, 2022

By lambasting her, he pointlessly antagonizes those voters.

From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2020

Nothing worries and antagonizes a female bear more than to have people between her and her brood.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Some also contend the deal has unnecessarily antagonized China, Australia’s main trading partner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

Neither side was eager to prolong a battle that antagonized customers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2024

John Coffee, a law professor at Columbia Law School, said Costello "greatly antagonized" Merchan.

From Salon ● May 21, 2024

Yet this month, it antagonized someone much more powerful, and is already retreating just a touch.

From Slate ● May 21, 2024

But this explanation only antagonized foes of the antipoverty group.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

She needs to maintain her popular tough stance on China without overly antagonizing Japan’s No. 2 customer for exports.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

In it, more realities of the killing are clarified: Good wasn’t antagonizing the agent, and she didn’t turn her wheels to try to hit him, but instead to drive away slowly.

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2026

President Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, two singular forces in U.S. politics who have spent months antagonizing one another, set aside their differences—for now—following a meeting at the White House.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2025

On the other, you have Baier trying to show he's tough by antagonizing and talking over her.

From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2024

Miles didn’t seem to particularly like me, and I’d been antagonizing him all day.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023