PROTAGONISTS Synonyms: 44 Similar and Opposite Words

protagonists

noun

plural of protagonist

as in proponents

a person who actively supports or favors a cause Milton Friedman is usually cited as the leading American protagonist of monetarism

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of protagonists This time, the protagonists are the Kohs, a well-off cosmopolitan family who fall on hard times during the Asian financial crisis. — Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2026 Three students emerge as protagonists, two troublemaking boys and an outcast girl, who unsteadily becomes their friend. — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2026 The road trip narrative is a familiar sub-genre, but from On the Road to The Grapes of Wrath to Thelma and Louise, the Great American Road Trip has always seemed like the purview of white protagonists. — Literary Hub, 17 Sep. 2026 The show is really interesting in that there are sort of these two protagonists. — Lisa De Los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026 News of Jordan’s period of rest comes months after the star won his first Academy Award in March, taking home a Best Actor statuette for his dual Sinners performance as the twin protagonists Smoke and Stack. — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026 These nine classics skillfully keep audiences guessing while depicting different kinds of waking nightmares, making the protagonists’ traumas our own for a few entertaining hours. — David Faris, TheWeek, 14 Sep. 2026 There’s an understandable pacing dip afterward, when the wounded villagers think the nightmare is over and our protagonists learn separately that the forest holds more of these mysteriously strong creatures. — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Haney tells Deadline his initial goal was to make a 12-minute short documentary featuring one or two protagonists. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 11 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for protagonists

Noun

These early proponents of quantum biology sought explanations for the puzzling properties of life at the classical scale in the counterintuitive laws of physics at the quantum scale.

— Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026
For its proponents, a country could not be fully independent while its resources and institutions remained excessively dependent on decisions made elsewhere.

— Andre Pagliarini, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of proponents

Noun

Some of the nations attending the meeting in western Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk region, such as Poland and Romania, have been staunch supporters of Ukraine.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Sep. 2026
The case drew national attention and became racially charged, with supporters of Anthony criticizing the lack of Black jurors and calling for his acquittal, while supporters of the Metcalf family gathered outside the courthouse seeking justice.

— James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of supporters

Noun

Such incidental takings are the most common way that endangered animals die, the NYT reported, so advocates fear the move largely guts the ESA.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2026
Too often, environmental advocates insist on the elimination of poaching, logging, and other harmful activities while remaining wholly unfamiliar with the factors at play that lead to predation, neglect, and abuse of nature.

— Juliet Kinsman, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of advocates

Noun

Which trace from our Galois representation clings to each of these terms with prime exponents depends on how our equation, , behaves in a number field defined by that particular prime.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026
His mind didn’t go blank; rather, all the what-ifs multiplied like exponents, crowding his thoughts and rendering him unable to envision anything else.

— Min Jin Lee, New Yorker, 19 July 2026

Definition of exponents

Noun

While promoters and venues wield great power over concert tours, experts say an artist of Sheeran’s magnitude generally has the final say about what happens concerning the shows.

— Tassanee Vejpongsa, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
Under this model, promoters must convince a genuinely private investor that their company represents a worthwhile investment opportunity.

— John Hopewell, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of promoters

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protagonist

protagonists

protean

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“Protagonists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/protagonists. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of protagonists

noun

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