Antagonism
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A strong natural dislike or hatred; antipathy. countable, uncountable
"Their longstanding antagonism is manifested in frequent scuffles and shouting matches."
- 2 (biochemistry) interference in or inhibition of the physiological action of a chemical substance by another having a similar structure wordnet
- 3 an actively expressed feeling of dislike and hostility wordnet
- 4 the relation between opposing principles or forces or factors wordnet
- 5 a state of deep-seated ill-will wordnet
Example
More examples"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs, “opponent”), from ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai, “antagonize”), from ἀγών (agṓn, “contest”) (English agon).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.