protagonist

noun pro·tag·o·nist \ prō-ˈta-gə-nist \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Examples: protagonist in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of protagonist

1 a (1) : the principal character in a literary work (such as a drama or story)

(2) : the leading actor or principal character in a television show, movie, book, etc.

b : an active participant in an event

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

See protagonist defined for English-language learners

See protagonist defined for kids

Examples of protagonist in a Sentence

Badlands has two protagonists and Days of Heaven four (though both movies are rich in colorful minor roles). —Richard Alleva, Commonweal, 12 Mar. 1999
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
The most adamant opposition to my argument is likely to come from protagonists of secular reason … —Glenn Finder, Atlantic, December 1989
She was a leading protagonist in the civil rights movement.
Milton Friedman is usually cited as the leading American protagonist of monetarism.

Recent Examples of protagonist from the Web

People often say Hollywood doesn’t have a heritage of strong female protagonists.

— justine harman, Glamour, "Game of Thrones' Natalie Dormer: ‘We Can't Forget About Our Feminist Men’," 25 May 2018
This image of a man driven to the brink by human cruelty to an animal would have seized the attention of one of the more intriguing protagonists in recent Italian fiction, the Italian sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti.

— edgardo franzosini, New York Times, "There’s More to Italian Fiction Than Elena Ferrante," 18 May 2018
The game’s story unfolds through the perspectives of three nameless protagonists: a contract killer preparing a hit, a photographer exploring a forest, and a man smuggling mysterious VHS tapes across a border.

— adi robertson, The Verge, "Paratopic is a short, grimy horror game with a style straight out of 1998," 29 Apr. 2018
Still, Negan assaults Rick, breaking the protagonist's leg.

— troy l. smith, cleveland.com, "'The Walking Dead' big finale question: Will Rick kill Negan?," 15 Apr. 2018
Every shot feels essential, and many are startling, but especially those from the protagonist's perspective.

— leah pickett, Chicago Reader, "You Were Never Really Here updates Taxi Driver to an even colder urban landscape," 12 Apr. 2018
Coming into the league will be the 23rd franchise, Los Angeles FC, also one of the protagonists of the offseason in terms of transfers.

— juan pimiento, chicagotribune.com, "Neymar's prognosis, VAR controversy and the best of the week in soccer," 1 Mar. 2018
The coming election marks a generational shift in power, a last hurrah for the octogenarians who fought alongside Fidel and Raúl Castro during the Cuban Revolution, and the introduction of the protagonists of Cuba’s future.

— mimi whitefield, miamiherald, "Voices from Cuba: Cubans contemplate a non-Castro president and a new generation of leaders | Miami Herald," 1 Mar. 2018
But according to a depressing new study, the number of female protagonists in film actually decreased last year.

— emma dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Number of Female Protagonists In Film Dropped Last Year," 22 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'protagonist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Struggle, or conflict, is central to drama. The protagonist or hero of a play, novel, or film is involved in a struggle of some kind, either against someone or something else or even against his or her own emotions. So the hero is the "first struggler", which is the literal meaning of the Greek word prōtagōnistēs. A character who opposes the hero is the antagonist, from a Greek verb that means literally "to struggle against".

Origin and Etymology 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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1671

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year