# antagonist
## English
### Etymology

From Latin antagonista, from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs, “opponent”) (ἀντί (antí, “against”) + ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”)), from ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai, “to antagonize”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ænˈtæɡənɪst/
* Audio (US):(file)

### Noun

antagonist (plural antagonists)
* An opponent or enemy.
** 1594–1597, Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Will[iam] Stansby [for Matthew Lownes], published 1611, →OCLC, (please specify the page):our antagonists in these controversies
** 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:Antagonist of Heav’ns Almightie King
** 1843, Edward Bulwer[-]Lytton, “A King in His City Hopes to Recover His Realm—A Woman in Her Chamber Fears to Forfeit Her Own”, in The Last of the Barons, London; New York, N.Y.: George Routledge and Sons […], →OCLC, book XII (The Battle of Barnet), page 433, column 2:[H]is eyes vacant—his face haggard—his head drooping, the spectacle of such an antagonist to the vigorous Edward, moved only pity in the few, and ridicule in the many.
* One who antagonizes or stirs.
* (biochemistry) A chemical that binds to a receptor but does not produce a physiological response, blocking the action of agonist chemicals.
** 2001: The calcium antagonists represent one of the top ten classes of prescription drugs in terms of commercial value, with worldwide sales of nearly $10 billion in 1999. — Leslie Iversen, Drugs: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2001, p. 41)
* (authorship) The main character or force opposing the protagonist in a literary work or drama.
** 2022, Will Wood (musician) (lyrics and music), “The Main Character”, in In case I make it,, performed by Will Wood:So God forbid I'm seen just as an average human being / I mean, imagine if antagonists lacked any evil scheme
* (anatomy) A muscle that acts in opposition to another.
    A flexor, which bends a part, is the antagonist of an extensor, which extends it.

#### Antonyms

* protagonist
* agonist (biochemistry)

#### Derived terms

* antagonistic
* archantagonist
* calcantagonist
* -fiban
* -kinra
* -lukast
* radioantagonist
* receptor antagonist
* sartan
* -setron
* -tant

#### Related terms

* agonistes
* antagonise
* antagonism
* antagonize

#### Translations
### Anagrams

* stagnation

## Danish
### Noun

antagonist c (singular definite antagonisten, plural indefinite antagonister)
* (literature) antagonist

#### Synonyms

* skurk

### Further reading

* “antagonist” in Den Danske Ordbog

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French antagoniste, from Latin antagonista.

### Adjective

antagonist m or n (feminine singular antagonistă, masculine plural antagoniști, feminine and neuter plural antagoniste)
* antagonistic
    Synonym: antagonic

#### Declension
### Noun

antagonist m (plural antagoniști)
* antagonist

#### Declension
## Swedish
### Noun

antagonist c
* an antagonist (opponent or enemy)
* (authorship) an antagonist
    Antonym: protagonist
* (biochemistry) an antagonist
* (anatomy) an antagonist

#### Declension

| | | nominative | genitive |
| singular | indefinite | antagonist | antagonists |
| singular | definite | antagonisten | antagonistens |
| plural | indefinite | antagonister | antagonisters |
| plural | definite | antagonisterna | antagonisternas |

#### Related terms

* antagonism

#### See also

* motståndare
* protagonist

### References

* antagonist in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* antagonist in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* antagonist in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

## Turkish
### Etymology

From French antagoniste.

### Noun

antagonist (definite accusative antagonisti, plural antagonistler)
* antagonist
    Synonyms: düşman, hasım, yağı