antagonise

IPA/ænˈtæɡ.ə.naɪz/
IPA/ænˈtæɡ.ə.naɪz/

antagonise — verb

  • antagonisepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • antagonises3rd person singular
  • antagonising-ing form
  • antagonisedpast simple

1. to say or do something that causes someone to feel angry, upset, or unfriendly t

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to say or do something that causes someone to feel angry, upset, or unfriendly towards you

Example

Roya antagonised her colleagues by constantly interrupting them during meetings.

antagonise + by [behaviour]

The politician's rude comments antagonised many voters in the city.

Common collocations
  • antagonise deliberately
  • antagonise unnecessarily
  • antagonise colleagues/voters/customers
  • antagonise someone with [words/actions]
Synonyms
  • alienate

    stronger outcome — to make someone so unfriendly they feel distant or estranged

  • offend

    focuses on hurting someone's feelings rather than provoking active hostility

  • annoy

    milder — to cause slight anger or impatience, not full opposition

Antonyms
  • appease

    to calm someone down and make them less hostile

  • pacify

    to bring peace and end anger or opposition

Grammar Patterns

antagonise + object (person/group)

Usage Note

Subject is usually a person's words, behaviour, or actions. The focus is on the social outcome — the person you antagonise becomes hostile, not merely annoyed.

Common Mistakes

His loud voice antagonised the problem.
His loud voice aggravated the problem.
'antagonise' applies to people, not to objects or situations.
She antagonised about the decision all night.
She agonised about the decision all night.
'antagonise' is transitive and means to provoke hostility; 'agonise' means to worry deeply.

2. to actively work against the effect or action of something such as a drug, chemi

2.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to actively work against the effect or action of something such as a drug, chemical, or biological process

Example

This new drug works by antagonising the chemicals that cause inflammation.

antagonise [chemical] — medical context

The doctor explained how the medicine would antagonise the poison in her bloodstream.

Common collocations
  • antagonise a receptor
  • antagonise an effect
  • antagonise a muscle
  • pharmacologically antagonised
Synonyms
  • counteract

    more common in everyday language; neutral in register

  • neutralise

    suggests making something completely harmless rather than just opposing it

Antonyms
  • promote

    to actively support or encourage a process or effect

  • enhance

    to increase the power or effect of something

Grammar Patterns

antagonise + object (effect/substance/process)

Usage Note

Object is typically an abstract force, effect, or biological process such as a drug, chemical reaction, or muscle action. Common in scientific, medical, and technical writing. Frequently used in the passive voice ('is antagonised by').

Common Mistakes

The medicine antagonises the patient.
The medicine antagonises the effects of the poison.
In this sense, the object should be the effect or process, not a person.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe making someone feel negative toward you, but they differ in intensity and outcome. 'Antagonise' is the strongest — it means actively causing someone to become hostile or opposed to you, as in 'She antagonised the committee by dismissing every suggestion.' 'Alienate' focuses on the result of driving someone away emotionally: careless remarks can alienate close friends. 'Offend' is about hurting someone's feelings or violating their sense of propriety, which does not always create lasting opposition. 'Annoy' and 'irritate' are milder and describe minor, repeated bothers rather than full hostility — a tapping pen can annoy a coworker, but it does not antagonise them.

alienate ↗offend ↗annoy ↗irritate ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • antagonise someone into doing something

Prepositions

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

Antagonise comes from the Greek 'antagōnizesthai' — a combination of 'anti-' (against) and 'agōnizesthai' (to struggle, from 'agōn' meaning contest or struggle). The word travelled through Latin 'antagonista' (an opponent in a contest) into English as 'antagonist' in the late 1500s. The verb form 'antagonise' appeared in the 1630s, first meaning 'to struggle against' in a literal sense, then broadening to include social and medical opposition. The American spelling is 'antagonize'.

First known use

1742

1742, in the meaning defined at sense 2