antagonistic
Americanadjective
-
acting in opposition; opposing, especially mutually.
-
hostile; unfriendly.
Other Word Forms
- antagonistically adverb
- nonantagonistic adjective
- nonantagonistically adverb
Etymology
Origin of antagonistic
First recorded in 1625–35; antagonist + -ic
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.
Peller noted “consternation around the potential for an antagonistic approach towards not only issuers but broader financials despite what was believed to be a lenient regulatory environment.”
From MarketWatch • Jan. 13, 2026
This was confirmed when Egypt traded in its limited success to come over to the American side, but Syria remained stubbornly antagonistic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025
According to Nishimura, "These findings reveal that the same stem cell population can follow antagonistic fates -- exhaustion or expansion -- depending on the type of stress and microenvironmental signals."
From Science Daily • Oct. 25, 2025
And that escalation comes amid growing global instability contributing to a Manichean world of antagonistic armed blocs, reminiscent of the Cold War at its worst.
From Salon • Jul. 22, 2025
The roads confound him; they’ve knotted up, dark, antagonistic; he pits himself against them, valiant, a man doing battle for love.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
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.
