agonist

[ag-uh-nist]

noun

a person engaged in a contest, conflict, struggle, etc., especially the protagonist in a literary work.
a person who is torn by inner conflict.
Physiology. a contracting muscle whose action is opposed by another muscle.Compare antagonist(def 3).

Pharmacology. a chemical substance capable of activating a receptor to induce a full or partial pharmacological response.Compare antagonist(def 5).

Origin of agonist

1620–30; < Late Latin agōnista < Greek agōnistḗs contestant, equivalent to agṓn agon + -istēs -ist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for agonist

Historical Examples of agonist

Agonist, ag′o-nist, n. one who contends for a prize in public games.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for agonist

agonist

noun

any muscle that is opposed in action by another muscleCompare antagonist (def. 2)
a competitor, as in an agon

Word Origin for agonist

C17: from Greek agōn agon

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

Word Origin and History for agonist

1876, in writings on Greek drama, from Greek agonistes, literally "combatant in the games" (see agony).

agonist in Medicine

agonist

[ăg′ə-nĭst]

A contracting muscle that is resisted or counteracted by an antagonistic muscle.
A substance that can combine with a cell receptor to produce a reaction typical for that substance.

agonist in Science

agonist

[ăg′ə-nĭst]

A muscle that actively contracts to produce a desired movement.
A chemical substance, especially a drug, that can combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiologic response. Compare antagonist.