agonistic

ag·o·nis·tic

adjective \ˌa-gə-ˈnis-tik\

Definition of AGONISTIC

1

: of or relating to the athletic contests of ancient Greece

2

: argumentative

3

: striving for effect : strained

4

: of, relating to, or being aggressive or defensive social interaction (as fighting, fleeing, or submitting) between individuals usually of the same species

— ag·o·nis·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Examples of AGONISTIC

1. <clearly a writer with a chip on his shoulder, he's very agonistic even when stating indisputable facts>

First Known Use of AGONISTIC

1648

Related to AGONISTIC

Synonyms

aggressive, belligerent, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, brawly, chippy, combative, confrontational, contentious, discordant, disputatious, feisty, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, warlike

Antonyms

nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative, uncontentious

Related Words

antagonistic, fierce, hostile, hot-tempered; acidic, bearish, bilious, bristly, choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, disagreeable, dyspeptic, fractious, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, pettish, petulant, prickly, querulous, rude, snappish, snappy, stroppy [British], surly, testy, touchy, ugly, waspish; savage, vicious; battling, fighting, warring

Near Antonyms

anti-imperialist, antimilitarist, unwarlike; affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, complaisant, conciliatory, cordial, easygoing, friendly, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, ingratiating, kindhearted, obliging, pleasant, sociable; calm, quiet, relaxed, serene, tranquil; benign, gentle, kindly, mild

Other History Terms

carpetbagger, enceinte, fief, historiography, paladin

Rhymes with AGONISTIC

activistic, albinistic, alchemistic, amoristic, animistic, annalistic, aphoristic, archaistic, atavistic, atheistic, atomistic, belletristic, Calvinistic, casuistic, catechistic, centralistic, chauvinistic, classicistic, coloristic, communistic, crosslinguistic, dadaistic, diaristic, dualistic, dyslogistic, egoistic, essayistic, eucharistic, eulogistic, euphemistic, euphuistic, exorcistic, familistic, fatalistic, feministic, feudalistic, fideistic, folkloristic, formalistic, futuristic, gongoristic, haggadistic, Hebraistic, hedonistic, Hellenistic, humanistic, humoristic, idealistic, imagistic, inartistic, Jansenistic, jargonistic, jingoistic, journalistic, Judaistic, kabbalistic, Lamaistic, legalistic, manneristic, masochistic, mechanistic, melanistic, mentalistic, methodistic, modernistic, moralistic, narcissistic, nationalistic, nativistic, nepotistic, nihilistic, novelistic, onanistic, optimistic, pantheistic, parodistic, pianistic, pietistic, Platonistic, pluralistic, pointillistic, populistic, pragmatistic, pugilistic, quietistic, realistic, sciolistic, shamanistic, socialistic, solecistic, solipsistic, syllogistic, symbolistic, synchronistic, syncretistic, synergistic, terroristic, totalistic, totemistic, ultraistic, unrealistic, urbanistic, utopistic, vandalistic, verbalistic, vitalistic, voodooistic, voyeuristic, Zionistic

ag·o·nis·tic

adjective \ˌag-ə-ˈnis-tik\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of AGONISTIC

: of, relating to, or being aggressive or defensive social interaction (as fighting, fleeing, or submitting) between individuals usually of the same species <agonistic behavior>