1
as in enemy
one that is hostile toward another
please name the novel's hero and his antagonist
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2
as in opponent
one that takes a position opposite another in a competition or conflict
his antagonist in the boxing match
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Recent Examples of antagonist
There’s a short paragraph or two featuring the essential information about the creature, vital game statistics for use in play and an illustration of the antagonist in action.
—
Rob Wieland, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
Amanat also pushed to bring back Bethel's Bullseye, who became the prime antagonist of the original’s third season on Netflix.
—EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a loyalist to President Trump and antagonist to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, on Monday plans to make his campaign official at a shindig in downtown Riverside.
—Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2025
The Generals, in many ways, take on the role of the ultimate antagonists.
—Jason Jones, The Athletic, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for antagonist
Rob Wieland, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025
Amanat also pushed to bring back Bethel's Bullseye, who became the prime antagonist of the original’s third season on Netflix.
—EW.com, 19 Feb. 2025
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a loyalist to President Trump and antagonist to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, on Monday plans to make his campaign official at a shindig in downtown Riverside.
—Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2025
The Generals, in many ways, take on the role of the ultimate antagonists.
—Jason Jones, The Athletic, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for antagonist
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antagonist
Noun
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Republicans are comparably less inclined to see it as an enemy than are Americans overall.—
Anthony Salvanto,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2025
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Article 2 was the party’s enemies list: the U.S., Europe, NATO, and the United Nations.—
James Verini,
The New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The big picture: The legislation is driving a deep wedge between the Democratic Party and the restaurant industry with supporters and opponents on both sides.—
John Frank,
Axios,
27 Feb. 2025
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But the Terps lost for the first time in five games and slipped to 16-2 this winter at Xfinity Center, falling at home to a league opponent for the first time this season and losing at home for the first time since a 78-74 setback to then-No. 15 Marquette on Nov. 15.—
Edward Lee,
Baltimore Sun,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti will make at least four changes when his team faces crosstown foe Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes,
4 Mar. 2025
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Cathedral has outscored its two regional playoff foes 32-8 overall to reach its second SoCal title contest.—
Glae Thien,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Six years later, Sea started Shopee in Singapore and has since become a regional e-commerce behemoth that now competes against rivals such as ByteDance’s TikTok and Alibaba.—
Jonathan Burgos,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
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Trump’s rocky relationship with Zelensky goes back five years—to when Trump first held up military assistance Congress had authorized for Ukraine to coerce Zelensky into investigating his political rival Joe Biden.—
Brian Bennett,
TIME,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The tariffs could jolt the global trading system and stoke tensions with allies and adversaries.—
Courtenay Brown,
Axios,
27 Feb. 2025
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This could ultimately decide whether AI becomes our greatest ally or an adversary.—
Rupesh Chokshi,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Antagonist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antagonist. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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