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Which word shares a Greek root with antagonist?

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antagonist

American  

[an-tag-uh-nist] / ænˈtæg ə nɪst /

noun

• antagonists
  plural

1. a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another; opponent; adversary.

   Synonyms:

   foe, enemy, contestant

   Antonyms:

   friend, ally

2. the adversary of the hero or protagonist of a drama or other literary work.

   Iago is the antagonist of Othello.

3. Physiology. a muscle that acts in opposition to another.

4. Dentistry. a tooth in one jaw that articulates during mastication or occlusion with a tooth in the opposing jaw.

5. Pharmacology. a drug that counteracts the effects of another drug.

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antagonist British  

/ ænˈtæɡənɪst /

noun

1. an opponent or adversary, as in a contest, drama, sporting event, etc

2. any muscle that opposes the action of another Compare agonist

3. a drug that counteracts the effects of another drug Compare synergist

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antagonist Scientific  

/ ăn-tăg′ə-nĭst /

1. A muscle that opposes the action of another muscle, as by relaxing while the other one contracts, thereby producing smooth, coordinated movement.

2. 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.

3. Compare agonist

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Synonym Usage

See adversary.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• antagonists
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

antagonist antagonists

Amylyx Pharmaceuticals says its GLP-1 receptor antagonist, avexitide, met both the primary and secondary endpoints in a late-stage clinical trial.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Meanwhile, the cruel antagonist Antinous has his eyes fixed on the queen while her husband is still away.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Regardless of how you showed up, you were a brilliant antagonist for a morally flexible opportunist.

From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026

It raises questions of structural integrity: When you depict a character like her as the antagonist of a show’s very likable heroine, you cannot then treat that antagonist as a heroine herself.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

I trembled as I tore a cartridge with my teeth; but our antagonist and his friends, outnumbered and outflanked, were beating a retreat, ducked low, into an alley.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

But even if we’re meant to view our woolly antagonists as sheeple, after a fashion, “The Sheep Detectives” culminates on an optimistic note for both the four-legged and the two.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

But the reverse is also true, and former antagonists can be rehabilitated, welcomed once again into the president's good graces.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

The charge exasperated the fiery Glass: In his autobiography, “An Adventure in Constructive Finance,” he quotes himself reading back to his antagonists the monetary protections incorporated in the legislation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 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

The children appeared before her like antagonists who had overcome her; who had overpowered and sought to drag her into the soul’s slavery for the rest of her days.

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

Related Words

• adversary
• enemy
• foe