as in provoking
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as in angering
to implant bitter feelings in
everything he said just antagonized the other side even more
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Recent Examples of antagonizing
Kristin M. Hall, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Between his antagonizing antics and soul-shaking shot-making, CJ McCollum needed only two playoff games to achieve Knicks villain status.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
One of the few sane adults left in his administration must have reminded him that antagonizing Catholics is a terrible political move.
—Gustavo Arellano, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
At a time when many in the business community tried to avoid antagonizing the Chinese government, Lai’s publications ran images that readers often brought to anti-government protests—including one that featured Hong Kong’s leader, Tung Chee-hwa, getting hit in the face with a pie.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Mar. 2026
Produced through his Loser Films shingle, the film is about a group of small-town amateur stuntmen whose days revolve around drinking, antagonizing their community, and filming crude, Jackass-style stunts.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026
Dillon Brooks antagonizing, Devin Booker feigning indifference.
—Jason Quick, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
In 2023, the aforementioned Watts slammed Cutrone in an EW interview, over allegedly antagonizing her during an earlier challenge, which led to the pair's infamous on-air clash that resulted in Watts walking out of the judging deliberation and quitting the competition on the spot.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Even more important than retaining loyalists, as the Post’s recent history proves, is not deliberately antagonizing them or your own talent.
—John Williams, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2026
Verb
Dalton Eatherly, 28, is known in Clarksville for deliberately antagonizing people on camera and also faces theft and disorderly conduct charges from a separate incident.
—Kristin M. Hall, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Between his antagonizing antics and soul-shaking shot-making, CJ McCollum needed only two playoff games to achieve Knicks villain status.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2026
One of the few sane adults left in his administration must have reminded him that antagonizing Catholics is a terrible political move.
—Gustavo Arellano, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2026
At a time when many in the business community tried to avoid antagonizing the Chinese government, Lai’s publications ran images that readers often brought to anti-government protests—including one that featured Hong Kong’s leader, Tung Chee-hwa, getting hit in the face with a pie.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Mar. 2026
Produced through his Loser Films shingle, the film is about a group of small-town amateur stuntmen whose days revolve around drinking, antagonizing their community, and filming crude, Jackass-style stunts.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026
Dillon Brooks antagonizing, Devin Booker feigning indifference.
—Jason Quick, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
In 2023, the aforementioned Watts slammed Cutrone in an EW interview, over allegedly antagonizing her during an earlier challenge, which led to the pair's infamous on-air clash that resulted in Watts walking out of the judging deliberation and quitting the competition on the spot.
—Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Even more important than retaining loyalists, as the Post’s recent history proves, is not deliberately antagonizing them or your own talent.
—John Williams, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antagonizing
Adjective
-
Ambitious, thought-provoking, thrilling and passionate.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
6 May 2026
-
Then on May 1, amid the full moon in Scorpio, Venus will harmonize with Saturn in Aries, presenting the opportunity for something fun and thought-provoking to become real.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Star, which also looked into the killing, revealed that Jordan’s associations with organized crime figures, as well as his apparent disregard for angering them, likely contributed to his death.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
1 June 2026
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In the biblical Tower of Babel story, humans are driven by hubris to try to create a tower tall enough to touch the sky, angering God in the process.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
25 May 2026
Adjective
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But during a press conference following the hearing, Held and the attorneys said aggravating circumstances in the case should meet the legal threshold for the battery case to be charged as a felony.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2026
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The switcheroo that the director pulls between the two protagonists, starting her film with Said but then losing him for a chunk of the running time, can also prove a bit aggravating, especially because actor Letifov (who was also in Western) has such a photogenic face.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
23 May 2026
Verb
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In May 2021, after being elected to Parliament, Ben-Gvir established a makeshift office in a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, enraging local residents.—
Avi Issacharoff,
The Atlantic,
22 May 2026
-
This is a sad story, an enraging one, a maddening one.—
Sam McDowell,
Kansas City Star,
20 May 2026
Adjective
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In many Ebola patients, this response can go overboard, causing a frenzy of immunological activity known as a cytokine storm – named for the proteins that stoke an inflammatory response.—
Jonathan Lambert,
NPR,
2 June 2026
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Scientists are now exploring whether these drugs could also help treat inflammatory conditions like migraine.—
Sukhman Rekhi,
Verywell Health,
1 June 2026
Verb
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There’s no ghastly passenger touchscreen, no dimwitted haptic touchpads and no infuriating AI assistant.—
Alistair Charlton,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
The film can also feel infuriating — quite intentionally so.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
He-Man was now a jolly, quip-ready hero, whose best friends were scaredy-cat Cringer (a green-and-yellow tiger who transformed into Battle Cat), and an annoying, hovering magician called Orko.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
1 June 2026
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Why Microsoft passkeys may feel confusing at first Security upgrades can be annoying.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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Of course, that doesn’t mean the company — which is currently under intense financial pressure, probably explaining the whole exasperating situation in the first place — won’t just institute an even more aggravating popup that breaks the site for all users.—
Jon Christian,
Futurism,
30 Apr. 2026
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This led to many exasperating discussions of the nature/nurture theories of my education.—
Gilda Dangot-Simpkin,
Sun Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Antagonizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antagonizing. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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