as in hostile
marked by opposition or ill will
countries that have been antagonistic towards each other for centuries
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Recent Examples of antagonistic
Make government smaller, faster, and less antagonistic to people who want to build a life.
—
Mike Garcia, Oc Register, 9 Mar. 2026
In a film that nimbly walks the tightrope between lightheartedness and weightlessness, Jerry and Mabel’s antagonistic relationship ends up proving the unexpected core of the story.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 2 Mar. 2026
Over the past few years, the tech world has become increasingly hostile to traditional media outlets, dismissing them as technologically illiterate or openly antagonistic toward the industry.
—Diego Lasarte, New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2026
Social media spreads antagonistic messages that might have circulated privately in past decades across a polarized society immediately – everywhere.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 22 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for antagonistic
Mike Garcia, Oc Register, 9 Mar. 2026
In a film that nimbly walks the tightrope between lightheartedness and weightlessness, Jerry and Mabel’s antagonistic relationship ends up proving the unexpected core of the story.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 2 Mar. 2026
Over the past few years, the tech world has become increasingly hostile to traditional media outlets, dismissing them as technologically illiterate or openly antagonistic toward the industry.
—Diego Lasarte, New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2026
Social media spreads antagonistic messages that might have circulated privately in past decades across a polarized society immediately – everywhere.
—Bart Jansen, USA Today, 22 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for antagonistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for antagonistic
Adjective
-
The 45th president’s victory in the crowded 2016 primary effectively toppled the existing Republican Establishment, injecting the party with a combination of populism and distrust that was especially hostile to the way things were done before.—
Alex J. Rouhandeh,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
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Customers will keep fighting back with dirty returns, unused reservations and hostile reviews.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Court records and large-scale studies indicate that elite colleges’ race-aware and holistic admissions systems have operated as a negative factor for Asian American applicants, contributing to lower admission/attendance odds than similarly qualified white applicants.—
David Blobaum,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2026
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Apple’s latest iPhone software update is drawing attention—some of which is negative—not just for its incremental upgrades, but also for a shift in how users interact with one of its core apps.—
Thomas Westerholm,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Antagonistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/antagonistic. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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