antagonist
/ænˈtæɡənɪst/
"antagonist" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“antagonist” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #19,012 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #19,012
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An opponent or enemy.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | antagonist |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ænˈtæɡənɪst/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #19,012 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “antagonist” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for antagonist is 10 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ænˈtæɡənɪst/. Corpus data places it at rank #19,012 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for antagonist, with forms such as "anatgonist", "anntagonist", and "antaggonist". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "antagonize", "antagonistic", "antagonism", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin antagonista, from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs, “opponent”) (ἀντί (antí, “against”) + ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”)), from ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai, “to antagonize”). The correct English form is antagonist, spelled A-N-T-A-G-O-N-I-S-T.
Definition
- 1An opponent or enemy.
- 2One who antagonizes or stirs.
- 3A chemical that binds to a receptor but does not produce a physiological response, blocking the action of other agonist chemicals, such as endogenous chemical messengers.
- 4The main character or force opposing the protagonist in a literary work or drama.
- 5A muscle that acts in opposition to another.
Etymology
From Latin antagonista, from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs, “opponent”) (ἀντί (antí, “against”) + ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”)), from ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai, “to antagonize”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: anatgonist,anntagonist,antaggonist,antagnoist,antagoinst,antagonisst,antagonistt,antagonits,antagonnist,antagonsit,antaognist,antgaonist,anttagonist,atnagonist,natagonist
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of antagonist - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "antagonist"?
What does "antagonist" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "antagonist"?
How do you pronounce "antagonist"?
What is the origin of the word "antagonist"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “antagonist”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-N-T-A-G-O-N-I-S-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ænˈtæɡənɪst/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “antagonize” - see the side-by-side comparison. antagonist vs antagonize
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.