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
Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 17 June 2026
The 38-year-old was known as one of the NHL’s best power forwards throughout parts of his career, often antagonizing opposing teams and even fan bases, primarily during his time in Boston.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 8 June 2026
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
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
Verb
Investor Michael Burry—of Big Short fame—considered antagonizing the richest man on the planet over the IPO of his latest company.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 17 June 2026
The 38-year-old was known as one of the NHL’s best power forwards throughout parts of his career, often antagonizing opposing teams and even fan bases, primarily during his time in Boston.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 8 June 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antagonizing
Adjective
-
Chiarella has come up with an ingenious premise that is as twisted as it is thought-provoking.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
18 June 2026
-
The Best Books of the Year (So Far) Our editors and critics choose the most captivating, notable, brilliant, surprising, absorbing, weird, thought-provoking, and talked-about books.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
The university, its athletic department and anyone associated with it haven't done the Red Raiders and their quarterback any favors, either, with people like head coach Joey Maguire and billionaire booster Cody Campbell sounding off on the issue and only angering fans further.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
The personal-conduct policy also cites violence against a pregnant woman as an aggravating factor when considering the severity of punishment.—
Nate Atkins,
New York Times,
15 June 2026
-
He is also charged with a habitual offender – fourth offense notice, which is an aggravating sentencing factor.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Before the agreement was announced, Israeli forces struck in Beirut, enraging Trump, who has publicly expressed his fury with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.—
Tal Shalev,
CNN Money,
15 June 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
Results from oral microbiome testing also revealed a link between blood pressure decrease and fewer inflammatory oral bacteria.—
Christina Manian,
Health,
23 June 2026
-
Espaillat has drawn attention to inflammatory social media posts Avila Chevalier made in her 20s, attempting to portray her as an unserious candidate.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 June 2026
Verb
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The Iranians moved their training base from Arizona to Mexico, and the team has been required to leave Los Angeles right after both matches, infuriating Ghalenoei.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 June 2026
-
If only the look from the outside-in had measured up the same way instead of descending into a fiasco as thousands faced infuriating delays getting to the stadium.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
Scam texts are annoying for everyone.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
22 June 2026
-
Others have blamed everything from feminism and long work commutes to annoying kiddy car seats.—
Tom Deignan,
New York Daily News,
21 June 2026
Adjective
-
After several exasperating Zillow searches through Portland, Oregon’s increasingly expensive housing market, Gaby Colón and Daniel Quebral scrapped their plans for a traditional home and embraced the open road, buying a 315-square-foot home on wheels.—
Jackie Cooperman,
Architectural Digest,
16 June 2026
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Antagonizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antagonizing. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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