agonist

C2+ Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ˈæɡənɪst/ UK /ˈæɡənɪst/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a contender or protagonist; (pharmacology) a substance that triggers a response

The drug acts as an agonist at the receptor.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a contender or protagonist;... contender protagonist competitor combatantactivator

Opposites

antagonistblocker

Word family

Derived forms agonisticagonism

Related forms agon antagonist protagonist agony

Etymology

From Ancient Greek agōnistḗs ('combatant, contestant'), from agṓn ('contest, struggle'). The pharmacological sense is a modern extension.

agōnistḗs Ancient Greek agṓn Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# agonist

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈæɡənɪst/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈæɡənɪst/

## Meanings
1. a contender or protagonist; (pharmacology) a substance that triggers a response

## Examples
- The drug acts as an agonist at the receptor.

## Synonyms
- contender
- protagonist
- competitor
- combatant
- activator

## Antonyms
- antagonist
- blocker

## Derived Forms
- agonistic
- agonism

## Related Forms
- agon
- antagonist
- protagonist
- agony

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: agōnistḗs
- Root: agṓn

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek agōnistḗs ('combatant, contestant'), from agṓn ('contest, struggle'). The pharmacological sense is a modern extension.

## AI Etymology
Agonist is a noun meaning "a contender or protagonist; (pharmacology) a substance that triggers a response". Historically, it is from Ancient Greek agōnistḗs ('combatant, contestant'), from agṓn ('contest, struggle'). The pharmacological sense is a modern extension. The semantic history matters here: the earlier use is the starting point, and the modern sense, "a contender or protagonist; (pharmacology) a substance that triggers a response", is the later or specialized English value. The historical chain links Ancient Greek agōnistḗs with Ancient Greek agṓn. Close English family members include agonistic, agonism, agon, antagonist, and protagonist.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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