antagonism

an·tag·o·nism

noun \an-ˈta-gə-ˌni-zəm\

Definition of ANTAGONISM

1

: opposition in physiological action; especially : interaction of two or more substances such that the action of any one of them on living cells or tissues is lessened

2

a : opposition of a conflicting force, tendency, or principle <the antagonism of democracy to dictatorship>

b : actively expressed opposition or hostility <antagonism between factions>

Examples of ANTAGONISM

1. The region has a long history of ethnic antagonisms.
2. <the antagonism between them was so bad they couldn't even sit near each other>

First Known Use of ANTAGONISM

1752

Related to ANTAGONISM

Synonyms

animosity, animus, enmity, antipathy, bad blood, bitterness, gall, grudge, hostility, jaundice, rancor

Antonyms

amity

Related Words

blood feud, feud, score, vendetta; hate, hatred, loathing; vindictiveness, virulence, vitriol; alienation, disaffection, estrangement; conflict, coolness, discord, friction, strain, tension; inhospitableness, unfriendliness; malice, malignancy, malignity, spite, spitefulness, venom

Near Antonyms

amiability, amicability, civility, cordiality, friendliness, hospitality, neighborliness; comity, empathy, friendship, goodwill, sympathy, understanding

See Synonym Discussion at enmity

Rhymes with ANTAGONISM

absenteeism, absolutism, abstractionism, adventurism, aestheticism, Afrocentrism, agnosticism, alcoholism, amateurism, anabaptism, anachronism, Anglicanism, animalism, Arianism, astigmatism, athleticism, automatism, behaviorism, Big Brotherism, bilingualism, Bonapartism, cannibalism, capitalism, Cartesianism, Catholicism, charlatanism, collectivism, commercialism, communalism, Confucianism, conservatism, constructivism, consumerism, corporatism, creationism, determinism, do-nothingism, eclecticism, ecotourism, ecumenism, egocentrism, empiricism, epicurism, eroticism, essentialism, ethnocentrism, evangelism, exoticism, expansionism, expressionism, Fabianism, factionalism, fanaticism, favoritism, federalism, Fenianism, feuilletonism, Fourierism, fraternalism, Freudianism, funambulism, functionalism, hermeticism, Hispanicism, historicism, hooliganism, illiberalism, illusionism, impressionism, infantilism, inflationism, initialism, insularism, irredentism, Jacobinism, Keynesianism, know-nothingism, lesbianism, liberalism, libertinism, literalism, Lutheranism, Lysenkoism, magic realism, malapropism, mercantilism, messianism, metabolism, metamorphism, militarism, minimalism, monasticism, monotheism, mutualism, naturalism, Naziritism, negativism, neologism, neo-Nazism, neorealism, nominalism, nonconformism, objectivism, obscurantism, obstructionism, opportunism, pacificism, parallelism, pastoralism, paternalism, patriotism, Peeping Tomism, perfectionism, photo-realism, plebeianism, polytheism, positivism, postmodernism, primitivism, progressivism, protectionism, Protestantism, provincialism, puritanism, radicalism, rationalism, recidivism, reductionism, regionalism, relativism, revisionism, revivalism, ritualism, romanticism, salvationism, sansculottism, scholasticism, sectionalism, secularism, separatism, serialism, Slavophilism, somnambulism, Stakhanovism, structuralism, subjectivism, teetotalism, theocentrism, triumphalism, Uncle Tomism, ventriloquism, vigilantism, workaholism

an·tag·o·nism

noun \an-ˈtag-ə-ˌniz-əm\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of ANTAGONISM

: opposition in physiological action: a : contrariety in the effect of contraction of muscles (as the extensors and flexors of a part) b : interaction of two or more substances such that the action of any one of them on living cells or tissues is lessened (as by interference with the uptake or by an opposing physiological reaction)—compare synergism