deuteragonist
/ˌduː.təˈɹæɡ.ə.nɪst/
"deuteragonist" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“deuteragonist” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A secondary character; specifically, the second most important character (after the protagonist).
Corpus desk
Index EN-deuteragonist · deuteragonist · English
deuteragonist · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
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.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | deuteragonist |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌduː.təˈɹæɡ.ə.nɪst/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “deuteragonist” in English
Rare enough to double-check
deuteragonist is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌduː.təˈɹæɡ.ə.nɪst/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
deuteragonist has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek δευτεραγωνιστής (deuteragōnistḗs, literally “second actor”), originally in Greek drama, from ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”). By surface analysis, deuter- (“second”) + agonist (“combatant, participant”). The correct English form is deuteragonist, spelled D-E-U-T-E-R-A-G-O-N-I-S-T.
Definition
- 1A secondary character; specifically, the second most important character (after the protagonist).
- 2An actor playing a role (potentially all roles) requiring a second actor to be present on the stage, opposite the protagonist.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how deuteragonist appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The issue is no longer about the artistic representation of woman going on within the story: rather, the art object, now unrelated to the actual woman (at a literal level, at any rate), becomes her deuteragonist and antagonist, and the opposition thus settled becomes further complicated by reversal, exchanges, shifts in their respective positions.
The first disposition accords with the attested reality of Nero acting in masks resembling his own features or those of women with whom he was in love (Suet. Nero 21.3), especially Poppaea (Dio 63.9.5), and generates a set of roles for the deuteragonist all of which focus on failed counsel; it also underlines the parallelism between the Seneca-Nero and Ne…
Etymology
From Ancient Greek δευτεραγωνιστής (deuteragōnistḗs, literally “second actor”), originally in Greek drama, from ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “a combatant, pleader, actor”). By surface analysis, deuter- (“second”) + agonist (“combatant, participant”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.