antagonize
verb
an·tag·o·nize
| \ an-ˈta-gə-ˌnīz
\
\
antagonized;
antagonizing
Definition of antagonize
1
: to incur or provoke the hostility of
His criticism antagonized his friends.
2
: to act in opposition to : counteract
The drug is antagonized by methylxanthines, such as caffeine and theophylline … — Scientific American Medicine
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Examples of antagonize in a Sentence
He didn't mean to antagonize you.
Her comments antagonized many people.
Recent Examples on the Web
Medvedev basked in the jeers, antagonizing people even more by saying their negativity helped him win. — Howard Fendrich, baltimoresun.com, "In US Open final, Rafael Nadal seeks 19th major, Daniil Medvedev eyes first," 7 Sep. 2019 Pop was antagonizing the room, and being pelted with beer, whiskey bottles, bras, and shoes. — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, "The Survival of Iggy Pop," 26 Aug. 2019 There’s a variety of factions — corporations, in The Outer World’s future — that are at odds with each other that players can help out or antagonize. — Chaim Gartenberg, The Verge, "The Outer Worlds swaps Fallout’s post-apocalypse for art deco in space," 2 Aug. 2019 Kraft, like many other NFL owners, is an ardent supporter of President Trump, who has repeatedly antagonized players seeking social-justice reforms, including and especially Kaepernick. — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, "What Kind of Activist Does Jay-Z Want to Be?," 15 Aug. 2019 In his short time in the Senate—he was elected in 2018—Hawley has focused his energies on antagonizing Big Tech. — Matthew De Silva, Quartz, "Why Senator Josh Hawley wants to kill your Snapstreak," 30 July 2019 Lorraine Day, for instance, an orthopedic surgeon who antagonized the staff of 5B with her controversial views about AIDS transmission, comes off as an almost cartoonish villain. — Pat Padua, Twin Cities, "Documentary ‘5B’ tells moving story of first hospital ward exclusively for AIDS patients," 14 June 2019 Lorraine Day, for instance, an orthopedic surgeon who antagonized the staff of 5B with her controversial views about AIDS transmission, comes off as an almost cartoonish villain. — Pat Padua, Houston Chronicle, "Moving ‘5B’ AIDS documentary also manipulative," 13 June 2019 Erdogan, however, has acted on his unorthodox impulses, bullying the central bank, antagonizing investors, and consolidating personal power over economic institutions (his son-in-law took over as finance minister last year). — Jason Karaian, Quartz, "Turkey’s president is testing his ability to bend the economy to his will," 7 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'antagonize.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for antagonize
antagonize
verb
English Language Learners Definition of antagonize
: to cause (someone) to feel hostile or angry : to irritate or upset (someone)
See the full definition for antagonize in the English Language Learners Dictionary
antagonize
verb
an·tag·o·nize
| \ an-ˈta-gə-ˌnīz
\
\
antagonized;
antagonizing
Kids Definition of antagonize
: to stir up dislike or anger in
The bully antagonizes younger kids.
antagonize
transitive verb
an·tag·o·nize
variants:
also British antagonise \ an-ˈtag-ə-ˌnīz
\
\
antagonized
also British antagonised;
antagonizing
also British antagonising
Medical Definition of antagonize
: to act in antagonism to : counteract
these effects are antagonized by atropine— Ernest Bueding & Harry Most
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