antagonize

an·tag·o·nize

transitive verb \an-ˈta-gə-ˌnīz\

an·tag·o·nizedan·tag·o·niz·ing

Definition of ANTAGONIZE

1

: to act in opposition to : counteract

2

: to incur or provoke the hostility of <his criticism antagonized his friends>

Examples of ANTAGONIZE

1. He didn't mean to antagonize you.
2. Her comments antagonized many people.

Origin of ANTAGONIZE

Greek antagōnizesthai, from anti- + agōnizesthai to struggle, from agōn contest — more at agony

First Known Use: circa 1742

Related to ANTAGONIZE

Synonyms

embitter, empoison, envenom

Related Words

aggravate, anger, enrage, incense, infuriate, madden; alienate, disaffect, disgruntle, estrange, set (against); curdle, sour

Near Antonyms

endear, ingratiate; appease, assuage, mollify, pacify, placate, propitiate; sweeten

Rhymes with ANTAGONIZE

accessorize, acclimatize, actualize, aerobicize, aestheticize, Africanize, allegorize, alphabetize, analogize, anatomize, anesthetize, animalize, annualize, anthologize, anticlockwise, apologize, apostatize, apostrophize, arabicize, aromatize, automatize, bureaucratize, cannibalize, capitalize, categorize, catheterize, catholicize, characterize, collectivize, commercialize, commoditize, communalize, computerize, conservatize, containerize, contrariwise, conveyorize, cosmeticize, counterclockwise, criminalize, cross-fertilize, cut down to size, decentralize, decolonize, de-emphasize, de-energize, defeminize, deformalize, deglamorize, dehumanize, deionize, demagnetize, demobilize, democratize, demoralize, denationalize, deodorize, depersonalize, depolarize, depressurize, desensitize, destabilize, destigmatize, detribalize, devitalize, diabolize, digitalize, disenfranchise, disorganize, economize, emblematize, emotionalize, epitomize, epoxidize, eroticize, eternalize, evangelize, extemporize, externalize, familiarize, fanaticize, fictionalize, floor exercise, fool's paradise, formularize, free enterprise, gelatinize, generalize, geologize, Hispanicize, historicize, homogenize, hospitalize, hypothesize, idealize, illegalize, immobilize, immortalize, impersonalize, Indianize, indigenize, infantilize, initialize, internalize, italicize, legitimize, liberalize, literalize, lobotomize, lysogenize, macadamize, marginalize, metabolize, metastasize, militarize, mineralize, monopolize, mythologize, nationalize, naturalize, parenthesize, philosophize, poeticize, politicize, popularize, prioritize, proselytize, radicalize, reorganize, revitalize, ritualize, romanticize, secularize, self-fertilize, sensualize, sexualize, sovietize, subjectivize, suburbanize, subvocalize, systematize, temporalize, theologize, traditionalize, trivialize, ventriloquize, visualize

an·tag·o·nize

transitive verb    (Medical Dictionary)

an·tag·o·nizedalso British ; an·tag·o·nised; an·tag·o·niz·ingalso British ; an·tag·o·nis·ing

Medical Definition of ANTAGONIZE

: to act in antagonism to : counteract <these effects are antagonized by atropine—Ernest Bueding & Harry Most>

Variants of ANTAGONIZE

an·tag·o·nize also British an·tag·o·nise \an-ˈtag-ə-ˌnīz\ (audio pronunciation)