entry
antagonize
/ˈæntəˌɡɑːnəˌzaɪz/To oppose or provoke persistently
From Greek anti (against) + Greek agonizesthai (to contend).
from Greek antagonizesthai "to struggle against, oppose, be a rival,"
from Greek antagonizesthai "to struggle against, oppose, be a rival,"
from Greek antagonizesthai "to struggle against, oppose, be a rival,"
from Greek antagonizesthai "to struggle against, oppose, be a rival,"
Word Ancestry
from Greek antagonizesthai "to struggle against, oppose, be a rival,"
from Greek antagonizesthai "to struggle against, oppose, be a rival,"
from Greek antagonizesthai "to struggle against, oppose, be a rival,"
from Greek antagonizesthai "to struggle against, oppose, be a rival,"
Picture the Greek marketplace, where a contest wasn’t just for athletes but for honor, prizes, and bragging rights. The verb behind this word is built from anti-, “against,” plus agonizesthai, “to contend,” which is why it has that built-in sense of a face-off, not just a vague bad vibe. That second piece is the same family that gives us agony, so one branch of the family tree is all sweat and struggle while the other is pure opposition. English first borrowed the idea in the 1630s as “to compete with,” and only later, by 1742, did it harden into the more familiar “to oppose.” It’s a nice little reminder that before a word can mean “make somebody mad,” it often spent centuries meaning “step into the ring and fight.”
The Story
Picture the Greek marketplace, where a contest wasn’t just for athletes but for honor, prizes, and bragging rights. The verb behind this word is built from anti-, “against,” plus agonizesthai, “to contend,” which is why it has that built-in sense of a face-off, not just a vague bad vibe. That second piece is the same family that gives us agony, so one branch of the family tree is all sweat and struggle while the other is pure opposition. English first borrowed the idea in the 1630s as “to compete with,” and only later, by 1742, did it harden into the more familiar “to oppose.” It’s a nice little reminder that before a word can mean “make somebody mad,” it often spent centuries meaning “step into the ring and fight.”
Kin & Kindred
From 'anti'·against; opposite; in response to
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'agonizesthai'·to contend; struggle in a contest
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary