antagonist

/ænˈtæɡənɪst/

//ænˈtæɡənɪst// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"antagonist" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“antagonist” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,012. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,012
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An opponent or enemy.

Corpus desk

Index EN-antagonist · antagonist · English

antagonist · rank #19,012 · 15 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,012
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH annoys

Nearest frequency peer: annoys (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “antagonist”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “antagonist” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

antagonist vs antagonize
80% similar
antagonist vs antagonistic
83% similar
antagonist vs antagonism
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for antagonist
PropertyValue
Headwordantagonist
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ænˈtæɡənɪst/
Letters10
Frequency rank#19,012
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “antagonist”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).antagonistlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “annoys” (#19,011), “apa” (#19,013), “amends” (#19,010). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “antagonist” is #19,012. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around antagonist (IPA /ænˈtæɡənɪst/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #19,012 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    An opponent or enemy.
  2. 2
    One who antagonizes or stirs.
  3. 3
    A 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.
  4. 4
    The main character or force opposing the protagonist in a literary work or drama.
  5. 5
    A muscle that acts in opposition to another.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how antagonist appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. our antagonists in these controversies
  2. Antagonist of Heav’ns Almightie King

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

protagonistagonist

This word in other languages

antagonista(Español)antagoniste(Français)Antagonist(Deutsch)antagonista(Português)

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.

anatgonist2anntagonist1antaggonist1antagnoist2antagoinst2antagonisst1antagonistt1antagonits2
Edit distance from "antagonist"

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"?
"antagonist" is spelled A-N-T-A-G-O-N-I-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ænˈtæɡənɪst/.
What does "antagonist" mean?
As a noun, "antagonist" means: An opponent or enemy.
What words are commonly confused with "antagonist"?
"antagonist" is commonly confused with "antagonize", "antagonistic", "antagonism". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "antagonist"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "antagonist" is /ænˈtæɡənɪst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "antagonist"?
From Latin antagonista, from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs, “opponent”) (ἀντί (antí, “against”) + ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”)), from ἀνταγωνίζομαι (antagōnízomai, “to antagonize”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "antagonist", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

attendants#19,017usefulness#18,986cautiously#19,040ungrateful#18,984

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

behavioural15 variantsescalation15 variantspositivity15 variantspersuasion15 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list