antagonize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make hostile or unfriendly; make an enemy or antagonist of.
His speech antagonized many voters.
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to act in opposition to; oppose.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make hostile; annoy or irritate
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to act in opposition to or counteract
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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antagonizationnoun
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reantagonizeverb (used with object)
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antagonizableadjective
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unantagonizableadjective
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unantagonizedadjective
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unantagonizingadjective
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unantagonizinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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antagonizesimple
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antagonizessimple
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have antagonizedperfect
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has antagonizedperfect
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am antagonizingprogressive
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are antagonizingprogressive
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is antagonizingprogressive
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have been antagonizingperfect progressive
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has been antagonizingperfect progressive
Past
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antagonizedsimple
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had antagonizedperfect
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was antagonizingprogressive
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were antagonizingprogressive
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had been antagonizingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing antagonize
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 7
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ACT Vocabulary List
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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:
Why would he show up and antagonize the justices?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
As was the lesson of “Saltburn,” never antagonize a minion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
There is more willingness to embrace the youth vote, rather than antagonize it, as far as campaign strategy goes.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2024
“When we are fighting for our survival, we can’t afford to antagonize either Biden or Trump,” Mr. Merezhko said.
From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
Satan would antagonize Justin, Justin would ignore him, Tobias would come after me, Justin would defend me, Satan would come after Justin, and around we would go again.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
“He antagonizes me on Twitter,” he said to a bystander, in an attempt to pass me off a second time.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 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
I enjoy art that antagonizes you, and then, slowly, in an emotional striptease, reveals a gooey, loving center.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
A young man from Harlem joins a Southern university’s marching band but antagonizes the musical director and its leader.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2019
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
John Coffee, a law professor at Columbia Law School, said Costello "greatly antagonized" Merchan.
From Salon ● May 21, 2024
So, people who are sophisticated litigators often don’t do that because it so often fails, and all you’re left with is an angered and antagonized judge who you’ve just called biased.
From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2024
Instead, he says, the experiment merely shows that, when antagonized the snakes are likely to put up a more spirited defense.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 3, 2024
But this explanation only antagonized foes of the antipoverty group.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
He did so to avoid antagonizing parts of the political and religious establishment that categorically reject hereditary or dynastic succession.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026
And, two, how did the Ottawa captain feel about the White House posting an A.I.-generated video on its TikTok account that purported to show Tkachuk antagonizing the country where he works?
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2026
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
Zohran Mamdani, who just swept to victory in the New York City mayoral race, already faces his next big challenge: making the right hires without alienating loyalists or further antagonizing skeptics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
Foaly, on the other hand, delighted in antagonizing his superior.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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.
