protagonist

pro·tag·o·nist

noun \prō-ˈta-gə-nist\

Definition of PROTAGONIST

1

a : the principal character in a literary work (as a drama or story)

b : a leading actor, character, or participant in a literary work or real event

2

: a leader, proponent, or supporter of a cause : champion

Examples of PROTAGONIST

1. She was a leading protagonist in the civil rights movement.
2. <Milton Friedman is usually cited as the leading American protagonist of monetarism.>
3. Badlands has two protagonists and Days of Heaven four (though both movies are rich in colorful minor roles). —Richard Alleva, Commonweal, 12 Mar. 1999
4. The protagonists of Gordon's fiction are children who have been saddled with their parents' emotional bad debts. —Judith Thurman, New Yorker, 12 Mar. 1990
5. The most adamant opposition to my argument is likely to come from protagonists of secular reason … —Glenn Finder, Atlantic, December 1989

Origin of PROTAGONIST

Greek prōtagōnistēs, from prōt- prot- + agōnistēs competitor at games, actor, from agōnizesthai to compete, from agōn contest, competition at games — more at agony

First Known Use: 1671

Related to PROTAGONIST

Synonyms

advocate, advocator, apostle, backer, booster, champion, expounder, espouser, friend, gospeler (or gospeller), herald, hierophant, high priest, paladin, promoter, proponent, exponent, supporter, true believer, tub-thumper, white knight

Antonyms

adversary, antagonist, opponent

Related Words

loyalist, partisan (also partizan), stalwart; adherent, cohort, disciple, follower; interpreter; applauder, cheerleader, encourager, fellow traveler

Near Antonyms

enemy, foe, rival; belittler, critic, faultfinder

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody