1
as in enemies
one that is hostile toward another
please name the novel's hero and his antagonist
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in opponents
one that takes a position opposite another in a competition or conflict
his antagonist in the boxing match
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of antagonists
From Jason Voorhees terrorizing all visitors of Camp Crystal Lake to Michael Myers persistently haunting the inhabitants of Haddonfield, Illinois, horror movies have relied on the silence and mystique of their main antagonists for decades.
—
Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
The two sides are long-term antagonists.
—Andy Browne, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2025
The new season introduces formidable antagonists played by Jaideep Ahlawat as Rukma and Nimrat Kaur as Meera, who push the protagonist to his limits.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Seven or eight of his primary antagonists, including me, were all standing around when the idea came up, again.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 26 Oct. 2025
Jarrard also mentions the Flood, a parasitic alien species introduced in Combat Evolved that have become recurring antagonists of the franchise.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
The horror conceit occasionally lapses into B-movie costume drama with antagonists that feel more pastiche than myth.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
The best antagonists ultimately have an incredibly relatable backstory.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2025
But Hoffman and Sacks have been public antagonists recently, due mostly to their political differences.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2025
Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025
The two sides are long-term antagonists.
—Andy Browne, semafor.com, 30 Oct. 2025
The new season introduces formidable antagonists played by Jaideep Ahlawat as Rukma and Nimrat Kaur as Meera, who push the protagonist to his limits.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 28 Oct. 2025
Seven or eight of his primary antagonists, including me, were all standing around when the idea came up, again.
—Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 26 Oct. 2025
Jarrard also mentions the Flood, a parasitic alien species introduced in Combat Evolved that have become recurring antagonists of the franchise.
—Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025
The horror conceit occasionally lapses into B-movie costume drama with antagonists that feel more pastiche than myth.
—Jerry Saltz, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025
The best antagonists ultimately have an incredibly relatable backstory.
—Katie Campione, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2025
But Hoffman and Sacks have been public antagonists recently, due mostly to their political differences.
—Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antagonists
Noun
-
That stark reality forced both sides to wage slash-and-burn propaganda campaigns designed to sow doubt and disinformation among their enemies.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
But he’s considered a centrist Democrat and has attracted political enemies from both the Right and Progressives, the former due to his pro-LBGT policies and the latter due to his support of centrist leaders such as District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.—
Rachel Schilke,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
In New York City, State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral race against high-profile opponents.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
A number of billionaires collectively spent more than $22 million to back Mamdani’s opponents, according to Forbes.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Defeating Lebanon’s Hezbollah, including killing Nasrallah, and bombing Iran’s facilities in June (with Trump sending American warplanes to assist) were widely seen by Israelis as historic victories over the country’s most threatening foes.—
Aluf Benn,
Foreign Affairs,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Start the man who has thrown more touchdowns against the Dolphins than his other AFC East foes combined.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Sea’s operating expenses also jumped by 28%, as its e-commerce arm Shopee tries to strengthen its competitive edge of rivals like Alibaba’s Lazada and ByteDance’s TikTok Shop.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
12 Nov. 2025
-
American pasta makers regularly complain that their Italian rivals are underpricing their goods.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Roosevelt used his relationship with the press not just to gain publicity but also to deny it to adversaries.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Both address vulnerabilities that adversaries already exploit—and both have recent, tangible demonstrations that turn theory into operational reality.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Antagonists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antagonists. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
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