Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To incur the dislike of; provoke hostility or enmity in.
  • transitive verb To counteract.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To act in opposition to; oppose; counteract; hinder.
  • To act antagonistically or in opposition.
  • Also spelled antagonise.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To act in opposition.
  • transitive verb To contend with; to oppose actively; to counteract.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To work against; oppose; especially to incite reaction.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb provoke the hostility of
  • verb act in opposition to

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek antagōnizesthai, to struggle against : anti-, anti- + agōnizesthai, to struggle (from agōn, contest; see agony).]

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Examples

  • If he does not reply promptly he must pay a forfeit or he must pay a forfeit if he uses a word which would show disloyalty to his country such as antagonize it, abhor it, etc. etc.

    Games For All Occasions Mary E. Blain

  • First, Germany, Italy, and France do not support either NATO or EU enlargement, although it is only the former that is usually considered likely to "antagonize" Russia.

    Jamestown Foundation: All Publications 2008

  • First, Germany, Italy, and France do not support either NATO or EU enlargement, although it is only the former that is usually considered likely to "antagonize" Russia.

    Jamestown Foundation: All Publications 2008

  • First, Germany, Italy, and France do not support either NATO or EU enlargement, although it is only the former that is usually considered likely to "antagonize" Russia.

    Jamestown Foundation: All Publications 2008

  • First, Germany, Italy, and France do not support either NATO or EU enlargement, although it is only the former that is usually considered likely to "antagonize" Russia.

    Jamestown Foundation: All Publications 2008

  • First, Germany, Italy, and France do not support either NATO or EU enlargement, although it is only the former that is usually considered likely to "antagonize" Russia.

    Jamestown Foundation: All Publications 2008

  • The FCC may antagonize another powerful lobby, broadcasters, if it offers an ambitious plan to get some of the airwave spectrum they control and turn it over to providers of wireless broadband services.

    Media Morning: Will the FCC get tough or play nice with broadband providers? 2010

  • Not a problem in deafening Vancouver, or Boston, where the Boston Globe actually asked Bruins fans to calm down and not antagonize visiting Canucks fans so much.

    Playoff Fireworks, Minus the Stargazing Jason Gay 2011

  • Not a problem in deafening Vancouver, or Boston, where the Boston Globe actually asked Bruins fans to calm down and not antagonize visiting Canucks fans so much.

    Playoff Fireworks, Minus the Stargazing Jason Gay 2011

  • But the media and tech worlds want to know: Will the FCC propose other bold changes that might antagonize large companies, including broadband giants Comcast and Verizon, or will it try to accommodate them with relatively moderate reforms?

    Media Morning: Will the FCC get tough or play nice with broadband providers? 2010

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