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antagonistic

[ an-tag-uh-nis-tik ]

/ ænˌtæg əˈnɪs tɪk /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR antagonistic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

acting in opposition; opposing, especially mutually.

hostile; unfriendly.

Origin of antagonistic

First recorded in 1625–35; antagonist + -ic

OTHER WORDS FROM antagonistic

an·tag·o·nis·ti·cal·ly, adverb non·an·tag·o·nis·tic, adjective non·an·tag·o·nis·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby antagonistic

antabuse, antacid, antaeus, antagonism, antagonist, antagonistic, antagonistic muscles, antagonize, antagonizer, antakiya, antakya

Example sentences from the Web for antagonistic

Ironically, Hezbollah and its backer Iran have not always had an antagonistic relationship with al-Qaeda.

Hezbollah, Jabhat al-Nusra Set for Showdown in Syria |Jamie Dettmer |March 14, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
In Canada, relations between the federal system and the provincial system are much more fraught — often antagonistic.

Why Doesn't Canada Have a Two Party System? |David Frum |October 6, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
No matter how antagonistic the question or the barb, Jackson keeps a low voice and a respectful tone.

Obama's Big Green Gun |Michelle Cottle |November 2, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Facing 75 years, an air of unreality surrounds Bongiorno's antagonistic behavior.

Madoff's Millionaire Secretary |Allan Dodds Frank |December 20, 2010 |DAILY BEAST

It was bad enough in America, with all the agencies involved, which led to some antagonistic moments among them in Katrina.

Haiti's Grisly Problem |Cyril Wecht |January 19, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
Attention is here drawn once more to the antagonistic reactions of temperature and radiation effects of heat.

Life Movements in Plants |Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
Alternate and antagonistic bargaining went on thus for more than two months.

A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times |Francois Pierre Guillaume Guizot
Nearly all the philosophers had been secretly, and many of them openly, antagonistic to the people's religion.

A Critical History of Greek Philosophy |W. T. Stace
See, then, how differently this class of phenomena bears on the antagonistic hypotheses.

Illustrations of Universal Progress |Herbert Spencer
Such carefulness over conduct and heart is fully compatible with all the blessed emotions to which it seems at first antagonistic.

Expositions of Holy Scripture |Alexander Maclaren

British Dictionary definitions for antagonistic

antagonistic

/ (ænˌtæɡəˈnɪstɪk) /

adjective

in active opposition

mutually opposed

Derived forms of antagonistic

antagonistically, adverb