ANTAGONIZE

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does antagonize mean? 

• ANTAGONIZE (verb)
  The verb ANTAGONIZE has 2 senses:

1. provoke the hostility of

2. act in opposition to

  Familiarity information: ANTAGONIZE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ANTAGONIZE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they antagonize    ... he / she / it antagonizes   
Past simple: antagonized   
Past participle: antagonized   
-ing form: antagonizing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Provoke the hostility of

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

antagonise; antagonize

Context example:

Don't antagonize your boss

Hypernyms (to "antagonize" is one way to...):

annoy; bother; chafe; devil; get at; get to; gravel; irritate; nark; nettle; rag; rile; vex (cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to antagonize Sue

Derivation:

antagonism (an actively expressed feeling of dislike and hostility)

antagonism (a state of deep-seated ill-will)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Act in opposition to

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

antagonise; antagonize; counteract

Hypernyms (to "antagonize" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

In the central nervous system (CNS), metoclopramide antagonizes D2 dopamine receptors in the chemoreceptive trigger zone (CTZ) of the medulla, thereby preventing nausea and vomiting.

(Metoclopramide Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

Metoprolol tartrate antagonizes beta 1-adrenergic receptors in the myocardium, thereby reducing the rate and force of myocardial contraction, and consequently a diminished cardiac output.

(Metoprolol Tartrate, NCI Thesaurus)

Nalmefene antagonizes the effects of opioids by competing for the opioid receptors in the CNS.

(Nalmefene Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

Upon administration, IPP-204106N antagonizes nucleolin leading to a downregulation of cell-surface nucleolin; preventing the binding of certain growth promoting ligands to nucleolin may suppress tumor cell proliferation and angiogenesis.

(Nucleolin Antagonist IPP-204106N, NCI Thesaurus)

This agent antagonizes D2 dopamine receptors in chemoreceptive trigger zone (CTZ) of the medulla, thereby preventing nausea and vomiting.

(Metoclopramide, NCI Thesaurus)

Furturene is able to antagonize aldosterone at the mineralocorticoid receptor in the kidneys, thereby increasing sodium excretion while inhibiting potassium excretion.

(Furterene, NCI Thesaurus)

Any of the synthetic agents that bind to and antagonize growth hormone receptors, resulting in inhibition of somatotrophic actions triggered by growth hormone stimulated receptor signal transduction.

(Growth Hormone Receptor Antagonist, NCI Thesaurus)

Any agent that binds to the histamine H1 receptor, thereby antagonizing histamine mediated allergic reactions, such as bronchoconstriction, vasodilation and up-regulated capillary permeability.

(Histamine-1 Receptor Antagonist, NCI Thesaurus)

Substances that inhibit or antagonize the function of the endocrine glands, the biosynthesis or biological effect of secreted hormones.

(Hormone Antagonist, NCI Thesaurus)

In cancer cells, nutlin-3a antagonizes the binding of MDM2 to p53, thereby preventing MDM2-mediated p53 degradation.

(Nutlin-3a, NCI Thesaurus)