EN

Synonyms for antagonist

14 synonyms
11 antonyms
1 meaning

noun

Most common

adversary villain opponent enemy

All synonyms

Noun

1. Adversary

adversary, villain, opponent, enemy, opposer, rival, foe, competitor, assailant, resistor, foeman dated

Other

baddie, blocker, belligerent

Antonyms

protagonist, neighbor, protector

All antonyms of antagonist →

Definitions

n. 1
An opponent or enemy.

Related words

Word family: antagonistic antagonize antagonism

Forms

Plural: antagonists → adversaries, villains, opponents, enemies…

Example sentences

enemy He betrayed us by telling the enemy where we were.
opponent I have underestimated the strength of my opponent.
villain The villain threatened to defenestrate the hostages.
adversary Fear is an adversary that one must face to move forward.
blocker We noticed you're using an ad blocker.
baddie The worse the baddie, the better the film.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
antagonist		rising
enemy		steady
opponent		rising
villain		rising
adversary		steady
blocker		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: foe¹
5 letters: enemy³, rival²
6 letters: baddie, foeman
7 letters: villain², blocker², opposer
8 letters: opponent³, resistor³
9 letters: adversary⁴, assailant³
10 letters: competitor⁴
11 letters: belligerent⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (enemy³ = 3 syllables).

In other languages

Français: antagoniste
Italiano: antagonista
Español: antagonista
Català: antagonista