Agonist

//ˈæ.ɡɘ.nɪst// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Someone involved in a contest or battle (as in an agon), protagonist.
  2. 2
    (biochemistry) a drug that can combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiological reaction wordnet
  3. 3
    The muscle that contracts while the other relaxes.

    "When bending the elbow, the biceps is the agonist."

  4. 4
    a muscle that contracts while another relaxes wordnet
  5. 5
    A molecule that can combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiological reaction.

    "Acetylcholine is an agonist at the cholinergic receptor."

Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    someone involved in a contest or battle (as in an agon) wordnet
  2. 7
    the principal character in a work of fiction wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
protagonistprotagonist

Example

More examples

"When bending the elbow, the biceps is the agonist."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin agōnista, from Ancient Greek ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “combatant, champion”). By surface analysis, agon or agony + -ist.

Related phrases

co-agonistinverse agonist

More for "agonist"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.