• IPA: /ænˈtæɡənɪst/

antagonist (plural antagonists)

1. An opponent or enemy.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book 9”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708 ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554 ↗:

     '''Antagonist of Heav’ns Almightie King

   • our antagonists in these controversies

2. One who antagonizes or stirs.
3. (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)
4. (authorship) The main character or force opposing the protagonist in a literary work or drama.
5. (anatomy) A muscle that acts in opposition to another.

   A flexor, which bends a part, is the antagonist of an extensor, which extends it.

• protagonist
• agonist (biochemistry)

• agonistes
• antagonise, antagonize
• antagonism
• receptor antagonist

• German: Antagonist
• Italian: antagonista
• Portuguese: antagonista
• Russian: антагони́ст
• Spanish: antagonista

• Italian: oppositore, avversario, concorrente
• Portuguese: antagonista
• Russian: антагони́ст
• Spanish: antagonista

• German: Antagonist
• Italian: antagonista
• Portuguese: antagonista